I Get You're an Outcast
by Veta-Chan
Summary: A ButchxOC story (like a father-daughter relationship if you look real deep into it). Blake is a teenage lady-outlaw running from the law. But her and her gang come across someone else's path during their run. Could they gang up with Butch and his boys or will they end up like Blake's family? Rated T for language, some violence, blood, and alcohol references. Multi-chapter story.
1. Wanted Dead or Alive

The townspeople gathered around the podium as train tycoon Latham Cole made his announcement.

"Today, ladies and gentlemen, is the day of one of America's biggest triumphs; connecting America from east to west!" Applauding came from everyone. "And on top of that," Cole added, "we all shall witness the hanging of the young and beautiful yet notorious Blake for her crimes of robbery and murder. And rest assured, outlaw Butch Cavendish will be caught as well." More applause. Cole made his thanks and steps down from the podium.

One of Cole's fellow businessmen came up to him and said, "Well done, Cole, sir! Now are you sure that Blake child won't get away? She's a sneaky one."

"Yes sir, Mr. Johnson. She'll meet her demise today for sure."

Unbeknownst to either of them, an albino golden eagle watches over them and flies off towards to oncoming train just a few miles ahead.

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Daniel Reid looks outside his window and sees the buffalo herd moving out of the train's way. He chuckles at the creatures, half of him feeling sorry for them for God knows what reason, the other half amused by the creatures. "What's so funny?" asks the woman in front of him. He turns his attention towards her and replies, "Oh. Well, those buffaloes. They're mysterious things, aren't they?" The woman nods back. "I've never really seen those kind before," she adds. Dan nods in agreement and chuckles.

But he sets his mind back to the prison cart, carrying two criminals ready to hanged for their own crimes. Dan looks back out, and he could have sworn he saw a large white bird fly swiftly past the car. He shakes it off and reads his pamphlet

**...**

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The only sound that fills the train car was the clacking of the new railway. Of course more cars were attached along with the prison cart that held 15 year old Blake and another outlaw. The outlaw takes quick split second glances at the teenager. Something about her made him feel uneasy. She knows that he is watching her but doesn't acknowledge it.

Both turn to hear the door open and see the warden with another round of booze. Blake just rolls her eyes and looks back at his partner shuffling a deck of cards. She notes that he had been doing that for ten minutes now. "Ya gettin' bored over there~?" she asks sarcastically with her grin. "Why don'cha shut yer mouth, missy?!" barks the warden. Blake just nods, eyes on him as he makes his way back to the crate table.

At the precise moment, when both had their backs turned, she reaches for the floor board and quietly lifts it. As she does so, she sings a death tune

_~O, Death_

_O, Death_

_Won't you spare me over til another year_

_Well what is this that I can't see_

_With ice cold hands takin' hold of me_

_Well I am death, none can excel_

_I'll open the door to heaven or hell_

_Whoa, death someone would pray_

_Could you wait to call me another day__,~_

Under it was a knife. The other outlaw notices the movement and watches bug-eyed.

_~The children prayed, the preacher preached_

_Time and mercy is out of your reach_

_I'll fix your feet til you cant walk_

_I'll lock your jaw til you cant talk_

_I'll close your eyes so you can't see_

_This very air, come and go with me_

_I'm death I come to take the soul_

_Leave the body and leave it cold_

_To draw up the flesh off of the frame_

_Dirt and worm both have a claim_

Blake puts a finger to her lips as she makes the coldest of cold smiles. He shudders as he put the pieces together of her cold plan of escape.

She continues with the cold song of death.

_~O, Death_

_O, Death_

_Won't you spare me over til another year_

_My mother came to my bed_

_Placed a cold towel upon my head_

_My head is warm my feet are cold_

_Death is a-movin upon my soul_

_Oh, death how you're treatin' me_

_You've close my eyes so I can't see_

_Well you're hurtin' my body_

_You make me cold_

They admit, however, that the song was sung so beautifully by such a cold hearted girl. The tune of it can send chills down their spines.

_~You run my life right outta my soul_

_Oh death please consider my age_

_Please don't take me at this stage_

_My wealth is all at your command_

_If you will move your icy hand_

_Oh the young, the rich or poor_

_Hunger like me you know_

_No wealth, no ruin, no silver no gold_

_Nothing satisfies me but your soul_

_O, death_

_O, death_

_Wont you spare me over til another year_

_Wont you spare me over til another year_

_Wont you spare me over til another year_

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"Well! Just on-a time!"

A British man closes his pocket watch.

"Wh-what're we w-w-waitin' fo'?! L-Let's go!"

An African American man chuckles.

"Alright. Let's move!"

The rogue gang rides out towards the train.

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Dan continues reading his pamphlet. Of course, there were other passengers in the same car as him. He manages to shake off the sight of the white bird. Dan looks at his pocket watch and notes that they should be arriving to the station on time.

But then again, maybe not.

From the corner of his eye, Dan could now swear that there is a silhouette of a man. And on top of the car. The sound of footsteps made the passengers look up, and that included Dan.

The door opened.

"I hope y'all don' have anythin' impor'ant comin' inta town today!" All heads turn to see two thugs at the door.

This was a train robbery!

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"Stretch break, boss!" Blake announced. The warden rolled his eyes and unlocked her. "Ya got five minutes, lady! And dis is your last one before ya go!" Blake nodded and muttered, "Right~." As Blake stretched out her back, the other outlaw tried to throw some pieces of wood at the warden and warn him. He even tried whispering to him. Not much luck.

Two minutes passed.

At his third go, he gets the warden's attention. The outlaw signs that Blake had a knife in her coat and was going to kill them.

The warden shakily grabs his gun, but Blake was too fast for him, and took him down. She draws her knife, covers his mouth with her free hand and slits his throat. Blood spurts everywhere and on her face. The warden's partner is shaken by the sudden scene and tries to take his gun; once again, Blake was too fast as she draws her own gun and shoots him.

Blake smiles grimly and turns to the outlaw, his hands in the air, pleading for mercy. "Normally, I would spare ya~," she says slyly, "but then again, I don't leave any survivors. And when I mean any-" she shoots him in the head, dead right on the spot. "-I mean no one!"

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"C'mon! Anyone gonna speak up?" Nobody could say a word as the thug duo went up and down the aisle.

Women were holding onto their children tightly. Elders saying their final prayers. But Dan; Dan wanted to stand up and defend the passengers .He was a Texas Ranger after all. He stands and says, "What could you possibly want that's so damn valuable on this train!? There's nothin'!"

The scuzzy looking thug laughs at Dan for his obliviousness. "Valuable? You mean our boss?"

_'Boss?' _Dan thought to himself. "Who are ya talkin' about?"

That's when a scream and gunfire rang from the prison car. All turned their heads. The thugs laughed and exclaimed, "That was Blake, now wasn' it?"

_'Blake?...'_ "Blake!"

Without much thought, Dan ran out and to the prison cart. '_How did she get out?! I thought they knew better!_' Dan thought to himself. He found the car door, but it was a little too heavy to open. However, the peephole was ajar, and saw the girl with the other prisoner. He really couldn't hear her but he could make out this: "Normally, I would spare ya~... But then again, I don't leave any survivors. And when I mean any-" she shot and killed the other prisoner. "-I mean no one!"

With all his strength, Dan pried the door open and got in. "Texas Justice Department!" Dan exclaimed. Blake gave him a cold stare and pointed the gun at him. "Oh. Just another ranger, eh~?"

Dan's heart was racing, and he didn't know why.

"Sucks for you, do'en't it~?"

What did she mean?

"Blake! Put the gun down.** Now**!" Dan ordered. Blake coldly giggled at his order and said, "What would be the point of a stand off, dear Ranger~?"

"Blake. There will be no stand off if you can just cooperate with me. You're gonna be hangin' soon."

"Oh~. I don't think so, my dear Ranger~."

They both felt the train pick up speed as Dan went down but Blake held her ground. "Looks like my boys did their job~."

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Blake locks shackle on Dan's ankle and smiles coldly. "Well, well~! Looks like the tables've turned, Ranger~. I'll be sure that you be safe with those on." Blake backs away from Dan and laughs at his current place. "Oh, yeah. You'll be secure alright~."

The door slides open and her horse was waiting for her along with her gang and the white bird. "Be seein' ya in Hell, Ranger~!" she jumps right on the saddle and was out of sight. Only their cheers could be heard now.

The most notorious female criminal was on the loose. And Dan had to get out. And find her.


	2. Bird Bar Fight

The loud obnoxious yelping from Blake's gang filled the saloon. Drunken laughter echoed throughout as they celebrated her escape. "Eh, boss. I-uh-I shoulda m-mentioned this a wh-while 'go, but yuh still got some- some blood on ya," noted Scuzz, one of her members. The beige haired girl licked her lips and said, "Ey. Blood's blood. It's gonna wash off~." Scuzz gave a little nervous chuckle.

To her gang, they thought it was a little odd for her not to be drinking any alcohol by now. She never said why; but then again, she really didn't like talking about her past.

"'ey, yo, Wallowitz! Heard anyt'ang about dat train?" asked Freight, a muscular African American man. "I hear' that Ranger man got out an' saved th' train. Along wit' the passengers." "I said I didn't want no survivors~," Blake muttered under her breath. But in admittance, she raised her eyebrows and added, "But, I admit; He did have the guts to do so~."

"S-Sorry I got here late, boss!" All except Blake turn their heads and see Jake coming towards their usual area. "The Hell've you been, Jake? Hittin' on more whores, again?" she asks rolling her eyes. Her gang laughs at her remark. Yes, true, Jake was the lustful type of guy, but his attitude can get in the way a lot. "Well, ya know, I- never mind…" Jake said in defeat. Blake does her nod that says 'Of course never mind, ya jack wagon!' Edgar, the mustached Italian-British man of her gang, tapped her on the shoulder after her gang stopped laughing at poor Jake. "Madame. I have heard that there were rumors about a si-"

Suddenly, gunshots and loud yelping rang through the bar. All heads except Blake's turn to see another gang harassing a poor soul. Blake motions with her head to turn back to the front. "Ignore 'em," she muttered, "an' don't say anythin'" They obeyed without question. Blake tried to hear what one of the men was talking about but could only hear "Listen to me, an' ya better listen good! If I don't git that damn silver in by tomorrow…," before the voice lowered into a threatening mutter. The mentioning of silver, however, did catch her attention. "What's he talking about?" whispered Edgar, an Italian-British man in Blake's gang. Blake just shrugged. "Not sure, Ed," she muttered back.

It wasn't long before the gang threw out the frail man out the door with them laughing at him. "And don't come back 'til ya get it sorted out! Ya hear me?!" one of the men yelled. The gang turned around and saw the people still staring at them, bewildered. "What're y'all lookin' at?" the same man yelled. Blake heard the chairs scrape and murmurs from the people and the sound of spurs clinking. She heard the clinking come closer and closer towards her gang's spot at the bar.

From the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of one of the men sitting next to her through her side bangs. He was a bearded man who had black hair that went to his collar bone, a white feather in his hair (she assumed it was a hawk's feather), a scar on his lip that went up to his nostril, and eyes as blue as the dusk. Blake felt him glaring at her with a cold stare and said, "You in my spot, missy. Move, why don'cha, sweetheart~?"

"…No."

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Did she just say '**no**'?!

He asked her again, this time in a more threatening tone.

"I said: **MOVE**!"

"And I said: **NO**!"

"What the hell part of '**Move**' didn' ya understand?"

Blake turned to him and flipped her hair out of her right eye, exposing her blue eye.

"An' what the hell part of '**no**' didn't YOU understand?"

Blake turned back to the front. Her gang gasped under their breath as Blake gave him her eye. They kept saying "The Eye!"

That's it. He had it with her!

The man pulls his gun out and points it towards her. Then both gangs pull their guns out and point them at each other, minus Blake of course. "I don't think that'll be necessary~," she tells them. "And why not?" the man asks.

Blake just whistled a tune and her eagle Japhet flew right next to him. He looked at the bird and looked into his blood red eyes. The eagle gave a small screech before the man turned back to Blake. "I wouldn't do what I believe you're wantin' to do~," she said slyly and with a sly smile.

He rolled his eyes and put his gun back. Both gangs did the same. "Fine," he said.

"Skinny! Gimme Jewel," the man demanded. Skinny, in which Blake assumed was the thug as thin as a stick, went out and brought back a raven. She just chuckled and said, "A **bird** fight? **That's** what you're challenging me to?" "If that's the only way to make you leave," said the man with a grin. She raised an eyebrow and saw his silver tooth.

'_Well, then… This oughta be easy_,' she thought.

...

With the tables and chairs cleared out of the way, both bird holders took their places and walked slowly in a circle; with everyone watching.

"I hope that lil' birdy of yours doesn't fall too quickly~!"

"Don't git your hopes too high, missy!"

Once the go was signaled, both let their birds fly at each other.

Japhet locked talons with the raven, his talons obviously much bigger than hers.

Screeching and cawing filled the saloon and people started to cover their ears from Japhet's screeching.

Blake sat back and smiled her cold smile as the long haired man looked at the birds with a serious look. Japhet's fastest time to take down another bird was at least thirty seconds.

He took the raven down in twenty five seconds. Japhet put his talon on the raven's neck, waiting for his master's go. "Kill it!" Blake yelled.

Japhet didn't hesitated to drive his beak into the raven's neck, his free talon taking the chance to tear into her abdomen. Blood spewed on the eagle's face and body The raven cawed her last.

Japhet took the raven's heart and ate it. Blake smiled coldly and heard someone throw up in the background from the putrid scene. She whistled the bird back to her and the eagle came back all bloodied. Her gang congratulated her for yet another successful kill. The man and his guys looked at the dead raven in horror and thought how a girl could just smile at such a thing. The bar was filled with murmurs again as they tried to go back to their business, most still scarred for life after what just happened.

The man with long hair sighed and walk towards her. "Not bad, kid," he noted. Blake nodded and replied, "But ya knew that raven wouldn't stand a chance against my dear Japhet~. Why'd ya do so~?" He only grinned and told her, "Wanted to see if that bird had anything."

She gave the man a suspicious look. "What're ya getting' at?" Her gang looked towards their conversation, also interested.

"Well," he started, "I should introduced myself, first. Name's Butch Cavendish."

"The-the man who eats human flesh," Scuzz finished.

Butch nodded and continued. "I got myself a pretty good deal for such a lovely lady like you and your boys. I've got a silver mine just in the Comanche territory. We've got miners digging up more silver even as we speak. You and your boys can have them… If you join up with me a' my boys~."

This sounded like the deal of her life. She could be richer than the Queen of England. All she had to do was say yes, and they can be on their way.

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But then again. What if this was just a set up?

"Ya think I'm gonna fall for that bullshit?" Blake said after thinking on it, raising her eyebrow.

Her guys gasped and looked at her in confusion and distrust, especially Edgar. They were whispering things to her like, "_Are you crazy?! You can't be serious about this!_"

Butch thought she was crazy. "You serious?! You are dropping an offer of your life, miss-"

"Blake. But don'cha **dare** even call me 'Miss', 'Missy' or whatever the Hell ya call me! I know what yer up to!"

Blake started to walk out the bar but stopped and turned around. She gave her gang a 'Move your asses!' look; and they followed nervously.

Butch just shook his head.

They stepped over the dead raven.


	3. Light as Day but Dark As Night

"With all due respect, Blake, but what you just did back there was absolutely INSANE!" yelled Edgar. "You just dropped an offer that could have possibly made us the wealthiest people in Amer-"

"Ed! I don't care what that Butch guy said! For all I know, he coulda been lyin' to us about that mine!" Blake rudely responded. The sun was setting and she already got tired of them mentioning the dropped offer.

This was the sixth time Edgar had mentioned it. It's no wonder the man was so greedy.

After a few silent seconds, Wallowitz just had to say it again. "Ya know Ed's right, Blake. I can't believe ya-"

Wallowitz didn't even finish his sentence when Blake stopped her horse and turned to them, both guns out and pointing right at them. "Say it again. Go ahead! Jus' try me!"

None of them said a word, but Jake was about to open his mouth when she lowered her gun to an area where it should hurt them. "Do. I make. Myself. CLEAR?!" she threatened. They shook their heads and protected their crotches. Blake grinned and put her revolvers away. "Good."

She made the horse continue forward with them shivering from her threat.

...

The gang found a place to camp out for the night. Freighter found wood to build a fire and Japhet flew and found them game, maybe a little than they wanted. He was, however, very gluttonous.

The gang gathered around the fire and told them stories of their life and some memories and a bit of their personality leaked out.

Freighter was a free African man whose mother was also a slave in the South. But even after his freedon, he was full of his pride of being a free black man in a free country.

Edgar came all the way from Britain as a former train tycoon. He was on the border of wealth and fame, and losing his job. That was because he was found corrupted and too greedy about his money. So they kicked him out and sent him to America.

Scuzz wasn't the type of man that liked much work; Blake knew that for sure about most people. But his laziness and his unenthusiastic attitude got him fired from his one job as a bank clerk.

Jake. Now Jake was a woman's man. He can swoon girls in any shape. Sometimes, he'd might go a bit over the edge, and may even sleep with them after 'their fun time'.

Wallowitz was a man full of jealousy. He wished he had everything everyone wanted. But at the same time, he knew that wasn't going to happen. He usually became jealous of what other people looked like. He hated how he had a slight hunch back and tooth gap. But in the end, he said, that's just how you are.

Well. Most of them.

Blake never said a single word about her past, nor a single memory from then. "Y-ya know, Blake. Y-ya haven't s-s-said anyth-thin' ab-bout yerself." "Yeah, Blake!" Jake noted. "Why don'cha tell us somethin'."

"We told you ours. How 'bout you?" Freighter asked.

The camp went silent for a while.

Blake looked away from them and said, "Well... To be honest: I don't think it's worth discussin' about. Not really somethin' I should be talkin' 'bout." Some nodded in agreement, others, not really convinced by her reply. "But, if ya really wantin' to know, then fine," Blake said after a few awkward seconds of silience, "but it's kinda long. So hope y'all don't mind."

Nobody disagreed with her and listened to her story.

...

_"Ya see. I was born into a wealthy family. So wealthy, we owned some horses. Even ran in the Derby in Britain. But some would come in second, third, get money from a trifecta an' whatnot._

_Well, 'nyway._

_My papa taught me how to ride a horse, how to shoot a gun, and pretty much anything a boy could do. Cuzz I really didn't like the things most girls did._

_Now that was frowned upon these days, ya know? My mama taught me to cook, clean, an' all that girly shit. That really did much for me. I loved my fam'ly with ev'rythin'. The reason's probably cuzz I can just dsecribe our clan like this: We're bright as day, but also dark as night. It's like that cuzz our hair's bright like the sky, but we have dark eyes; dark as night._

_I thought it was a weird metaphor for us but, ya know, I bought it. And I still sorta do. But, I'm a little... Different from them, cuzz my eyes are two different colors. So I don't think it worked as much for me._

_And really; it's too bad I don't see 'em anymore._

_Well, actually, to put it this way: my family didn't last too long._

_See? I found this man, I don't remember what he looked like. But, I brought him to my fam'ly an' they took him in, hook-line-an'-sinker. When I saw him, I knew he had that look of insanity in him, but I really never mentioned it to 'em. Cuzz ya know, I wa'nt supposed to ask stupid questions 'bout stangers._

_Then, we got him all fixed up an' all that._

_I had a gut feelin' that wasn't a good idea._

_That night, we were supposed to be sleepin', and I didn't know this 'til next mornin..._

_He killed them. Killed 'em all. All but me._

_I dunno why. But he spared me. An' I thought he did it for a reason._

_I'm still scarred for life after that. Makes me wanna... Well, actually, I guess that's why I sorta, ya know, ... snapped. Wanted revenge. Wanted his blood on me."_

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Blake finished her story. Her men gave her looks of pity and sympathy. "Wow, Blake... I had no idea," muttered Edgar.

"It's fine. It's just been a long time," she replied.

"I can only imagine," Freighter said.

The sound of a coyote howling made them jump out of their skin. "Such a lonely sound, don't'cha think~?" Blake asked. Wallowitz nodded. "Makes ya think that we aren't the only ones out here, ya know?"

"That's fer sure," Blake murmured.

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The moon was up. It was a full moon.

Everyone was asleep.

Almost.

There was something out in the darkness that kept Blake up. She knew they weren't alone.

On a distant cliff, two Natives could see the group fast asleep.

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Scuzz woke up in a jolt. He looked around and didn't see Blake. He scanned their camp again and then found Blake standing on the border line of the desert. Scuzz gave a sigh of relief and walked up to her. Blake didn't turn around but knew that it was Scuzz coming up to her. He stood next to her and looked at her. She was looking out in the desert. He looked out in that direction and back to her. "What? Whatcha see?" he asked.

Blake pulls out a knife and shows it to him. And it's not hers. Her gaze never left the horizon.

"What is this, Scuzz?" she asked.

He took the knife and examined it. "It-it's an indian's."

"Comanche. Found it by me this morinin'," she told him. Scuzz gave her a shocked yet confused look. "Y-you do-don't think w-we're near the C-Comanch-che border? D-d-do ya?" Blake looked at him with certainty and said, "'fraid so."

Both went back down to the camp and woke up the others and explained their current situation.

"Those indians'll do anythin' to make us leave their lands," Freighter noted, "But what amazes me is that they even knew we were here in the dark in the first place." "They're quirky people, alright," Edgar added. The gang talked about maneuvering through the Comanche lands and sneak around the tribe.

Jake then had an idea. "Well, hold on a sec. What if they just warnin' us to stay out? We can send someone to check it out." All nodded in agreement, and Blake was actually surprised by him, but didn't say anything.

"So then," Blake started. "Any volunteers~?"


	4. Runnin' Runnin'

The sun was up and the heat was starting to make Blake feel a little uncomfortable. And her cuss rant didn't help.

"Yeah. Oh yeah! Ya get the bloody youngest one to go out here! Thinkin' they gonna get killed! They're just so fuckin' lazy! Oh, _I know_! Why don't we jus' send someone dumb enough to even go out here. Oh an' while you're at it,** DON'T GIT KILLED!** God, those assholes! Lazy assholes more likely! I just know it! Even that damn bird didn't bother to come! Hell he's just a fatass bird! What the hell else is he gonna do?!"

She turned back to the direction she came from and yelled out, "I hope y'all appreciate what I go through for you!"

Blake looked out for a while with an innocent look before returning to her set mood and flipping them off from a distance and continued walking.

At least she appreciated that her horse Nightmare came along. Blake let him stay close by under some shade under a cliff. But he wasn't wanting to rest; something was bothering him. And it wasn't an animal.

Above the cliff looking down at Blake, two Comanche tribesmen watched the teenaged girl cuss to herself and a little too loud. They glanced at each other and back to her.

Blake continued, "And on top of that, they think they can get away with what they just did?!" There was a crunching of dirt, and then a clinking of metal.

"God I'm just gonna-!"

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Wait...

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Metal?

Blake took a look back but saw nothing. She sported the most confused look on her face as she walked back to where she felt the little bump on the dry ground. Blake moved her beige hair out of her eye to see well.

She knelt down and felt for the bump. Once she found it, she brushed it off with the sleeve of her coat, and found something she knew that probably wasn't supposed to be there.

Metal train tracks.

Blake raised her eyebrow. '_Why the Hell would **this** be here? Especially in the middle of the bloody desert... And in Indian territory_,' she thought.

Then it hit her.

Blake snapped her head to look up and avert her gaze to her left. "Oh **Hell** no!" she yelped. Blake grabbed her revolver and shot at the air.

Just as she thought. Unfortunately.

Pieces of arrow fell a few feet away from her. It wasn't long before a second arrow eventually hit her on the shoulder. Blake grimaced in pain and went on one knee gripping her shoulder. She scanned the area and found two lone tribesmen, Comanche, she concluded, armed and ready to fire again.

Blake grabs her other gun and shoots in their direction. Of course those were only warning shots. "Don't come near me!" she informed, "Y'all know I'm just gonna shootcha!"

They ignored her and fired their arrows. She dodged them and ran back to find her horse. She didn't notice the tribesmen had left to mound on their horses. By then, when Blake had run a few yards, the sound of hooves could be barely heard from behind. Blake ran even faster, thinking she could get farther than them.

The tribesmen fired more arrows at her, one hitting her in the back of her leg. She quickly pulls it out and limply runs. Blake eventually whistled loudly for Nightmare and he came running up to her. She mounds on quickly and turns back to the Comanche.

What she saw was something she really wasn't expecting.

"Oh, you are _fuckin' **kiddin'**_ me!"

Scuzz paced back and forth. "Boss's s-sure been g-g-gone for a wh-whi-ile now, hasn't sh-sh-she?" he stuttered.

"Jus' give her a little time, Scuzz," Freighter said. "She'll be back."

Wallowitz, however, was the most nervous out of them all. "Somethin' tell me that Blake's gonna kill us when she gits back." Edgar couldn't have agreed more. "She's a dangerous one, alright." Jake just sounded pissed for some reason. "Jes shut up! Blake's just been gone for 5 hours!"

"Speakin' of, Jake!" Freighter announced. Everyone went up to Freighter and tried to see. "There she is!" Through his telescope (well, Edgar's really) he saw the black cladded lady-outlaw on her horse.

But the look on her face really surprised him the most. "And she's... Lookin' kinda frantic." All gave judgmental looks to Freighter. "It's like she's bein' chased by someone." "Who?" Jake asked.

"Wait! It's those Comanches!"

"Those?"

"H-h-how many?"

Freighter checked again. "Two."

"Okay. Not bad," Wallowitz said. "If boss needs help, we'll-"

"Hold on, Walli..."

And then at least 48 more Comanche warriors came into view.

Cue the best combined look of 'holy shit' and 'fuck this shit' on their faces.

Freighter collapsed the telescope and turned around slowly. "Okay... How about: we forget everythin' bad we ever said about her. We go out there, and we apolo-"

He never finished his sentence when Blake came in and was thrown off her horse. She winced in pain.

"Blake! Y-ya alright?!" Scuzz asked. She tried to get up. "Y-yeah! I'm... I'm fine." She tried to walk forward but went down on one knee. "Certainly doe'n't look like it~," Jake commented.

"Hey! Why don't you try runnin' away from a bunch o' Comanches an' gettin' shit in the leg by 'em?!" Blake remarked. Jake stopped laughing afterwards.

Now everyone wanted to know what happened. "So what the hell happened? How'd they find you?" Freighter asked. "How... How far di-did you g-g-go?" Scuzz stuttered. Blake went ahead and explained the railroad she discovered in the desert, the chase and her coming back. "A railroad?! In the middle of the desert?! I thought that was part of the Comanche territory!" Edgar said. "That's what I thought, too...," Blake replied, "Looks like that Cole guy really doesn't keep his word." Then something hit Edgar. "Wait a minute, Blake! If there is that railroad... Then what if that leads to that silver mine?!" "Ed! I said-"

"Hold on! I think he's right!" Walliwitz interrupted. "That track could take us to that mine that Butch guy was talkin' 'bout! How 'bout that, boss?"

Blake wanted to say something, but then actually thought about that. They probably are right. Maybe that railroad could take them to that mine. Maybe that Butch guy wasn't bluffing afterall.

Maybe...

"Ya know... I've kinda always wanted to see a silver mine myself~," Blake finally said. "Boys! Let's find ourselves a silver mine~!"


	5. The Silver Mine

The moon was full. The light shined down on the gang. But it was no competition for the well-lit lanterns burning bright at the silver mine. They could hear the sound of metal hitting rock, soldiers barking orders, and occasionally dynamite explosions.

The six climbed up the hill overseeing the mine, Japhet flew over the mine undetected. Japhet flew back to Blake and perched on her shoulder. "Looks like that ol' Butch guy wasn't bs-ing afterall~," the black clad teenager said.

"All that silver...," Edgar muttered in Italian. "H-h-how do you sup-p. Suppose we git some, b-b-boss?" Scuzz stuttered, fixing his scuzzy dirty blond hair. Blake thought about her plan for a while and then shrugged. "Well, we're gonna have ta steal at least one of those cars. But yeah I know there's a shitload o' workers an' soldiers around, so it ain't gonna be easy."

"We could kill some o' the workers an' git their clothes," Freighter suggested. "Oi! We can go disguised an' unnoticed, boss-mate!" Walli whispered. Blake thought of this for a few seconds and agreed. "Okay. We'll go with yer'all's plan. Kill those miners, git anywhere near one of those cars, try ta unhook 'em, an' git the hell outta here!" "An' don't make a sound!" the African man added. "I'm sure y'all can handle that," Blake commented.

Cue the loudest belch from Freighter ever.

The sound was so loud, it had echoed throughout the mine and caused everyone to stop and find the source of the sound.

And cue the best 'what the actual fuck, Freighter?!' looks on the gangs faces (minus Freighter, of course). Freighter recoiled from the belch and sported a confused look then a look of realization. "Sorry...," he muttered.

Lights suddenly blinded the gang momentarily. They have been spotted. Once the gang regained their vision, Blake ordered, "Everyone run!" Shouts of Chinese and English orders had echoed throughout the mine as the gang ran down the hill. Scuzz tripped and rolled down the hill, twisting his ankle and cussing under his breath. He limped as fast as he could to catch up with the others.

It had not taken the soldiers long to find them and point their rifles at them. Blake commanded the gang to split up and scatter. Blake and Scuzz went towards the mine, Jake and Walliwitz went towards the forest line, and Freighter and Edgar headed back towards the hill.

Blake and Scuzz grabbed shovels and thwacked soldiers and miners with them. Occasionally, they had to shoot them dead. One commander had his rifle pointed right at their faces. They dropped their shovels and had their hands up slightly. "Make one move," the commander exclaimed, "an' you two are gonna regret it!" Scuzz noticed a looped rope right where the commander's foot was, which led to a pulley tied down by a tree and then weighed down by a rock. "Al-alright," Scuzz said. Blake shot him a look. "N-n-no rush~."

Next thing they knew, Scuzz shot the rope, which chain reacted by closing the hole and dragging the commander by the ankle, sending him high up towards the tree, and knocking him out. Blake looked at him with amazement. "Nice one!" "Th-thanks, boss," he replied.

Jake and Walliwitz strutted towards the forest line and to their horses, the soldiers right behind them. The red head glanced back and dodged a bullet (literally). The duo climbed up a tree and waited for the soldiers to leave. "Jake! Ya know dis ain't gon work, mate!" the Aussie muttered. "I know, ya jack wagon! It's jus' called 'improvisation'," Jake claimed. They saw the troops split and searched the forest. "W'll now what, genius?" Walli asked. Jake and Walli thought of a plan when they remembered the horses a few yards out. Jake grinned and looked at the green-eyed Australian. "Ever stood on a horse before~?" Walli gulped.

As if it looked like the duo couldn't be found, the sound of neighing horses were heard from a few yards out. The commander ordered his troops to be ready to fire. A brown-white horse came sprinting right towards them, and with Jake standing right on its back. Jake pulled out his revolvers and shot the troop. Only five were left. Jake grabbed a branch and swung and perched right on it. Another one came from the left as Walli clung on to his horse's side, a bloodied branch in his hand like a lance. The remaining soldiers started to run but all were impaled by him. Walliwitz let the branch go and fell off his horse.

Jake showed off by doing a flip off the branch and helped the hunchbacked Aussie up his feet and catch up with Freighter and Edgar.

Running up the hill was just as bad as just climbing it up. Edgar was already out of breath and Freighter had to carry him up the rest of the way. They reached the top of the hill before the troop had arrived. There was only 15 soldiers and Freighter could have just taken all of them down... If he hadn't wasted his ammo on the way up the hill, that is. He put Edgar down and turned to find the troop caught up with them, their rifles loaded. Edgar put his hands up but Freighter just kept calm but concerned. The commander said, "I wouldn't do anythin' stupid right about now if I were you." The African man glanced over to Edgar's side and saw Blake and Scuzz with another commander. But then he spotted an opening for them to slide down the hill to.

Freighter raised an eyebrow and said, "What would we do that's so stupid?" and kicked Edgar down. Edgar must have yelled something in Italian while sliding down the hill because he really sounded mad. Scuzz shot his gun at a tree as Freighter went down the hill following Ed. Jake and Walli made it to the top right when the troop turned their attention back towards them. They had no choice and Jake grabbed Walliwitz and went down as well.

The gang was all caught up and they ran towards the mine. Scuzz's ankle was still twisted and he collapsed to the ground on the way. Freighter and Walli picked him up but were stopped by a miner. Jake, Edgar, and Blake turned and saw them stopped by the Chinese man, who was of course, saying something in Chinese. Blake could probably make out what he was saying. "What's goin' on? What's he sayin'?" Jake asked. Blake translated, "He said don't move. The Union soldier's will kill you. And that we can't go in the mine." She rolled her eyes and got her gun out. "Frickin' snitch," she muttered and shot and killed the miner.

Blake motioned to keep up and move along. Suddenly the troop showed up and the two holding Scuzz dropped him and ran towards the mine. Scuzz yelped in pain while Blake ran and helped him up. "Y'all go! We'll catch up!" Blake told her gang and they ran in. They could hear the troop come closer as they ran to the mine.

That was when Japhet flew in and dropped a stick of dynamite right between them. The troop stopped and turned around before the stick blew up. Blake and Scuzz turned to where the explosion was and saw that it had sent the troop flying. They caught a glimpse of Japhet flying towards the mine. "That is one smart ass bird," she commented.

The two were finally within three yards from the others when Edgar found a way out. "Down here! We have to get out!" he exclaimed. Blake told them to just go and that they will catch up. They all went down the tunnel while Scuzz told Blake to let him go and try to walk again. He could but he was limping very painfully; Blake had to stop every other foot to let him keep up. The two made it and they had to slide down the tunnel, apparently, in order to get out of the mine. Blake went first then Scuzz, who came down in a painful way.

Just as he recoiled, two, no three, barrels of some sort of fluid came tumbling down the secret shaft. Scuzz and Blake lifted one of the barrels and examined it. "Uh, b-b-boss... This... This is ke-ke-r-kerosene," he stuttered. That was when they look at each other in realization.

An old sergeant, followed by one of the few remaining miners, followed the two outlaws into the mine and threw the barrels of kerosene down the little shaft. He ordered the miner to give him a stick of dynamite and lit it. With a shocked look, the miner asked in his best English, "You can't be serious! Are you blowing up this mine?!" the sergeant replied, "These fellas need ta learn how ta stay off of fed'ral property!" and threw the dynamite down the shaft.

By that time, Blake and Scuzz were getting closer to the opening of the shaft. Blake saw something light up where they had just left, and then an explosion; and it was big. Japhet was screeching really loud and Scuzz limped painfully but fast.

They found the opening.

"Scuzz! Jump!"

They made it out before the explosion had reached them. The blow had sent them flying out and down towards the water. A large piece of wood, probably a support beam from the shaft, hit Blake on the back of her leg before the jump. They hit the water in a very painful way, forcing them to swim up fairly conscious. With the last amount of consciousness in them, Scuzz, Blake and the others finally made their way towards the shore line.

Of course, somebody just had to throw in a sulfuric gas bomb* at them to knock them all out. "Gas! Don't open yer mouth!" Blake commanded with a covered mouth and coughing.

Japhet perched on a branch and managed to avoid the gas; Jake had collapsed from the gas and hit his head on a rock; Edgar coughed up water and was out from the awful smell; Freighter had to pull Ed from the current and had taken a blow on the head from a huge log that was flowing down stream and the gas that had pounded his windpipe; Walli did get shot once but it wasn't too bad, he had coughed up some water as well before collapsing from oxygen deprivation; Scuzz and Blake kept up before falling to the ground.

Freighter saw the wood sticking out of her leg. "Hey ***huff*** Blake... ***huff**cough*** You. You ***huff*** got some***cough***thin' ***cough***..." and passed out. Blake tried to stand but fell, not only from the explosion impact, but from the wood still in her leg. Scuzz eventually goes out before Blake. Blake tried to stay conscious, but her vision, and muscles, felt blurred and weak. She went face down on the ground, her eyelids fighting to stay open.

Her eyes eventually were shut but she fought to keep them open to see a pair of what seemed to be black boots. Even in the night, she could fairly see who or what was surrounding them.

Eyes closing and opening, mostly closing, her vision blurred. The boots stopped right in front of her and she looked up; but she couldn't see whose face she was looking at. The teen couldn't make out what the person was saying; because by then she had already passed out.

**Author's note: Okay. I did do some research on that sulfuric thing. It was invented back then but I wasn't really sure what to call it. Probably should've said 'grenade' but I can't remember if that was also invented yet either :/**


	6. Negotiations

Blake woke up with a jolt. She looked around and saw the rest of her gang, including Japhet, who was perched on a window sill. She gave out a sigh of relief. "Heh... Thank God... It was jus a dream...," she muttered with a grin and put her head back on her pillow.

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

Wait.

...

...

...

...

...

A pillow?

Blake got back up again, this time with a look of confusion. She examined the room again. _'How the Hell did I get here?'_ Blake thought to herself. She got out of the bed and quietly walked over to her clothes she spotted by Scuzz's bed.

Blake nearly fell over but caught herself. Why was her leg in so much pain?

...

...

Oh right. The wood.

She saw that her leg was all bandaged up and rolled her eyes. Blake could have wondered how her leg got like that, but she didn't want to sound stupid either. Once she got dressed, she petted Japhet and chatted with him for a bit. "Looks like yer alright~. You see who got us here~?" Japhet just cocked his head at her and gave a small screech; then he turned his head to a door on the left. Blake looked to where Japhet was looking, and then looked back to the albino eagle. She gave her bird an unsure look and murmured, "I can't tell if yer one of the smartest birds in the world, or the stupidest bird in the world..."

Japhet only gave her a small chirp sound; that made Blake want to take that bird to a butcher and eat him. But she just rolled her eyes and limped towards the door. She looked out the window of the car and noticed that not only was it around midday, but the car wasn't moving. Maybe not yet. She then turned her head towards the door to see who was there. She couldn't see anyone and found the other door to the next car; but that wasn't the only thing bothering her. _'How long've we been out?'_ she thought.

Blake slid the door open quietly, stepped out, and closed it quietly. She brushed her hair over her right eye and made her way to door. She looked into the window but didn't see anyone in there. Blake quietly opened the door and entered the car. She had her back turned and never saw the person at the table. Once she closed the door, she took a few steps back, turned, and fell face down from a throb in her leg. Blake took only two seconds to recover and rub her eyes and curse under her breath.

Blake opened her eyes and saw a pair of black boots in front of her face. She thought she had seen those from somewhere before. She looked up to the owner of the boots.

...

Oh. Now she remembered.

The black clad man chuckled and said, "Didn' think that's really lady-like~." Blake rolled her eyes and got up. "If I was a lady, I'd rather be in tha' ol' whore house," she said sarcastically. Butch smirked.

"Why don'cha have a seat? Betcha awf'lly tired by now," he offered. Blake took a seat just across from him at the edge of the table, and then put her legs on it. "Now, gimme a really damn good explanation here, Butch; How the hell long 'ave we been in this son-o'-a-bitch?" she demanded. Butch chuckled again and bit into an apple. "I admit, y'all are pretty heavy sleepers-"

"How **long**. Have we been out?!"

He raised an eyebrow and continued. "Eh, if I did keep track o' time,... It was at least three days."

...

...

...

...

...

...

Three days?

Blake put her feet down. "..._What?!_"

"Yeah. Ya heard me. Three days. That stuff must've knocked y'all hard." Blake leaned back into her chair; then it hit her.

She leaned forward in her chair and asked, "Okay. I understand ya wanted me ta partially run a silver mine, but how in the hell did ya even know we were right there? Were you_ followin'_ us, er somethin'?!" Butch laughed at her blind wrath. "I had some o' mah boys follow ya," he said. Blake leaned back in her chair, an eyebrow raised. "But I can tell ya, the real reason I'm wantin' you, Blake, you are a very demanding girl."

Blake averted her eyes down and raised both her eyebrows and replied, "I can git my way wit' mah boys, if that's whatcha mean." The room fell awkwardly silent for a moment before Butch wanted to know more about her. "You don't seem ta be that ol'. How old are ya, 'nyway?" Blake smirked and said, "May not look like it, but I'm 15."

...

...

...

Fifteen years old. She just looked too damn young to be considered an outlaw. Not to mention a killer. How could she be like this already at such a young age? All these thoughts ran through Butch's mind as he wanted to know even more.

"Why d'cha go this way?"

Blake looked at him, an apple in her hand.

"What d'ya mean?"

"...Why d'cha be a criminal? An-"

"Outcast?"

Well not the word he was looking for but it'll do.

Blake put her feet up on the table and said, "It's not a kinda story I'd repeat. But if you wanna know, then I guess I can." Blake told Butch the exact same story she had told her gang the other night. Once she was done, Butch sort of couldn't help but to feel kind of bad for her. He assumed she was out for revenge. "That's a... Deep story," he commented. Blake only shrugged and said, "Well that's all in the past. Really cain't do anythin' 'bout it now." Butch nodded at what she said.

But he still didn't forget about his planned deal. "Well, anyway, about that silver-"

"I know. You weren' bullshittin' 'bout it. Whatcha wantin' ta deal me with~?"

...

...

"Can ya see anythin', Jake?" Walli murmured. Jake tried to look into the window. "Not really. Cain't see shi-"

He stopped.

"Wh-wh-what?!" Scuzz whispered. "Yeah! I see the boss! Looks like she's talkin' ta someone," he quietly reported. "Who?" Freighter demanded before Edgar thwacked him on the head. "Quiet, ya git!" he muttered. "I dunno. I cain't tell," the red head whispered.

...

Butch smiled his signature grin, pulled out a small map, and said, "That silver mine right there; it could be yours." Blake put her feet down and got closer to him. "All o' it?" she asked. Butch nodded. "But under one condition..."

_'Ah fuck...'_ she thought. "An' that would be?" she asked. Butch just smirked his signature smirk. "You an' yer boys work with_ me_~. Whaddya say 'bout that~?" Blake hesitated for a moment. She knew there had to be something else to this deal. "What's the catch?" she asked.

Damn this kid was smart! Butch had to admit that. "An' also: we'll split th' silver."

_'Split it, huh?'_ she thought to herself. "How so~?"

"90-10. We git the 90. You an' yer boys'll take the 10."

Way too low. "How 'bout… 85-15?"

Was this girl playing with him?

"Fine. 80-20."

Oh. Now he was asking for it.

"25-75."

"65-35!"

**"60-40!"**

**...**

"Oh. Hell…" Jake muttered.

"What?" Freighter wondered.

All Jake could see was Blake and Butch in what seemed like an argument. But about what? "I dunno..."

...

"You wanna drive a hard bargain, don'cha?"

"I can be stubborn."

"So what? 55-45?"

"45-55."

And in unison "50-50!"

Blake and Butch looked at each other for a long time before Butch said, "Yer one tough lady~."

Blake smirked and said, "Like I said, I like to have my way." "So I guess it's a done deal now, eh?" Blake nodded. "Yer damn right."

And with that, they shook hands on the deal, each with their own smirks.

After shaking hands, Butch raised his eyebrows. "Jes' wonderin', do they always do that?" he asked pointing to the car door.

...

Jake's eyes widened when he read Butch's lips and Blake's eyes glance at him. "Git back in the car!" he said through his teeth. The rest of the gang made a mad dash towards the car, shoving and pushing each other out of the way.

...

Blake averted her eyes towards the door and saw Jake through the window. She looked back at Butch and just shrugged. "Eh. I guess you can call it 'normal'."


	7. The Seven Deadly Sins

It had only been two weeks since they had made the deal. And from the looks of it, Blake and her boys seem to be pleased with their fair share. Along with that, Butch couldn't help get the feeling that Blake was somewhat like him. Then again, she does imitate a few things from him. But not only that, Blake did teach him a few things from her life time. Not surprisingly, Butch's gang and Blake's gang noticed that their relationship was getting stronger; but they wouldn't dare say anything about that, knowing them.

The next town the gangs arrive at had a saloon. They figured they could stop here for the night and get something to drink, too. They entered the saloon, and, not surprising, the place was filled with scandalous women with at least two to three men at once. Blake rolled her eyes. "I was afraid we'd run inta all this shit…" she muttered to Butch. They turned and saw Jake flirtatiously walk towards one of the women. While the rest of the men chuckled at Jake, Blake just face palmed herself.

Jake went to one of the women and said, "You come 'ere of'en~?" and was bitch slapped by her. The gangs muffled their laughter, even Blake tried not to giggle. "Okay… Didn't think I deserved that…" he muttered, recoiled and tried again. "Sorry. Didn' introduced myself~. Name's-" and was bitch slapped again. Blake couldn't help but giggle. "Think you deserved that one?" she said. Jake nodded. "Yeah. I think so…" he muttered. They all just laughed.

She felt a hand on her shoulder. "_That_ normal?" he asked. "Beyond," she replied. Butch smirked and said, "Why don'cha git yerselves a table? I'll be over there." He pointed to an empty bar stool next to a man dressed in ash grey. Blake nodded… But then her look changed.

She kept staring at the grey cladded man.

Had she seen him from somewhere before? The grey just looked really familiar-

"Blake? Whatcha thinkin'?

Blake's train of thought was interrupted by Butch's slightly concerned tone. She blinked and looked right at him, saying, "Oh, uh… It's-it's nothin'. I jus'… jus' though he-" she pointed to the man "-looked familiar." Butch looked to where she was pointing. Blake shook the feeling off and said, "Well, alright, you can go o'er there. We'll be sittin' here, m'kay?" Butch nodded and took the seat next to the grey cladded man. He told the bar keep to give him a thing of whiskey. Butch looked into the mirror where the drinks were. He couldn't help but to see the man's eyes. The dark grey-blue eyes against his white beard-

"See something?" the man asked, making Butch jump from the man's Hispanic accent. He looked to his right, then back to the man before pointing to himself. "M-me?" he muttered. The grey cladded man chuckled and nodded. "Of course you, Butch. Who else would I be talking to?" Looks like the man already knows who he is. The grey cladded man glanced over to Blake's table and said, "So I see you're with the Seven Deadly Sins." Butch nodded without thinking and replied, "Right." The bartender brought him his whiskey and nodded his thanks to him.

...

...

...

But after a second, Butch's face went from stern to confusion. He turns to the man and repeats, "Wait… The Seven Deadly Sins?" The Hispanic accented man nodded. "Haven't you noticed?" he asks. "Their characteristics… Their personalities… Everything?" Butch looked back at Blake and her gang's table and back to the grey cladded man. Well, okay, Jake was pretty obvious but the others? What did this man know about them that he didn't.

"What're ye tryin' ta git at?" Butch asked. The man only grinned and pulled out a paper from his coat, looking back towards Blake's table and placing the paper between them. Butch raised an eyebrow when the man opened the paper. The paper had her gang's faces on them, including the bird's, like they were from wanted posters. The faces were neatly arranged in a seven pointed pentagram; on top of the pictures were the names of the seven cardinal sins. Butch looked at the man and said, "The hell is this?" The man grinned and gave a reply that made Butch frustrated. "The seven sins. Envy, greed, gluttony, lust, pride, sloth, and wrath-"

"I git that!" Butch replied angrily. "I mean: why the hell do you have them like this? What's the point?" The Hispanic accented man knew he was getting irritated, so he gave him his best straight forward answer, "Each one of those people are representations of the seven sins. Each with their own story of how they came to be." Butch's curiosity got the best of him. "How are they represented?" His question was more concerned towards Blake, because she was underneath '_wrath_'.

The man smirked and started, "I like to go in order, so let's start with envy…"

**…**

**…**

_"Walliwitz is an Australian born man. His whole name is Louis Walliwitz, but prefers to be called by his last name. Now yes, Walliwitz is in fact a Jewish name, but he was not born or raised Jewish. He was a Catholic man. But as he grew up, Walliwitz was usually ignored by his family, due to having his back hunched up like that. They considered him deformed and an outcast. Never giving him what he wanted, just giving him second had items. He wanted to join the Royal British Army, but they refused him._

_This kept up for a very long time. His envious attitude kept up to the point where his devoted Catholic family thought he was possessed by some 'envy demon'. All he wanted was what everyone had. And it had angered him. He wanted to be normally formed, he wanted… well anything, really. He finally had it and left his home and came to America. But even so, he saw that people had everything he did not have, and was, therefore, envious."_

**…**

**…**

Butch looked at Walliwitz after the man finished his story. He now wanted more information. He wanted to know everything. "Envious for more, Butch?" He looked back at him with a blank expression. The man took his knife off of Walliwitz's and went to Japhet's. How could a bird be part of the seven sins? "W-wait. How in the hell's a bird part of this mess? What does he have ta do wit' anythin'?" Butch asked. The man didn't hesitate to stab the bird's picture and continue…

**…**

**…**

_"You know why that eagle is much bigger than any other bird? It eats. Now you may think that's normal, but this bird eats more than he needs to. He will hunt anything and eat it. He even eats the humans' scraps. Sometimes, he brings more than is needed to the gang. He has eaten so much, that he is getting bigger every time. He gets more muscular with all the things he eats. It will not stop until it thinks it is full._

_Now how he came to Blake was interesting. The bird had mistaken her for a horse somehow. The bird was about to eat her alive; but it didn't. It just perched on__** her**__ horse and gave Blake its game, once it realized she wasn't an animal."_

**…**

**…**

_'Well that explains that bird's size…'_ he thought. "Now Edgar," the man said, making Butch look up. "Edgar's is… very interesting as far as greed…"

**…**

**…**

_"Edgar Tosonini was born to wealthy family. The family owned one of the best railroad companies in Italy. That's where they get their wealth. He had loved being brought up in such a wealthy family. Now, when it had come the time for an heir to keep the family business going, his older brother got the job. Edgar was the second of five children; two brothers, two sisters. His brother Tony was the one who got the inheritance._

_This made Edgar furious. He wanted the money for himself, and no one else. So, then, as an act of jealousy and greed, Edgar went into his oldest brother's room… And killed him in his sleep. He got rid of the body before anyone noticed. When the family found out about the death, they had no choice but to give the inheritance to him. Little did they know that the murder was out of the cold hearted greed lying inside of him. They never realized how out of hand this greedy soul has gotten. Once the company's employers found out, they had him reported to family. They realized that he was so corrupted with greed, he would only give the employers just barely half a percent of the money earned from the railroad._

_The company demanded the family remove Edgar of his position and have him exiled from Italy. They listened to the employees, striped Edgar of the wealth and told him to never come back. The furious Edgar then took himself to America. It was then he had heard the rumors of silver being found out here, and moved out here."_

**…**

**…**

Now that sounded awfully too much like Latham Cole. In fact, he thought that Edgar man was somehow related _to_ Cole. Guess not.

"Now I bet you are thinking about that Jacob boy, aren't you?" the man said taking a swig of whiskey. Butch just gave him a look, definitely not amused by his joke. The man looked at Butch then raised his eyebrows and continued...

**…**

**…**

_"Jacob Herrington and his sister, in their older years, could dance, not only for performance, but for... other things. Jacob went his way with women while his sister... Can't think of her name; anyway, she went off in her own direction with her dancing career. Her brother, not much older than her, would go with women each and every night. His actions gave him the reputation of-"_

"I think I've heard enough already!" Butch said with his hand raised to make them man stop talking about Jake's little sex life. The Hispanic accented man pursed his lips and took another swig of whiskey.

Butch looked over at the table. "How 'bout that 'Freighter' guy? What 'oes he got ta do wit' anythin'?" The man smiled and simply said, "Pride."

**…**

**…**

_"Freighter, not sure how that name came to be, he is really named Ray Sanchez Voluncostene; born into slavery many years ago. He had always dreamed of being a free man. Now knowing the laws of the South, he knew this would not be so easy to achieve._

_You may have heard about the North's fight to free the slaves, haven't you? Well, young Freighter had to escape to the North in order to be free. Of course he was caught just before he could even cross the border to his freedom._

_The next month, he was set free. Ironic isn't it? You go an' run to get your freedom an' get caught and the next you are a free man. This had gotten to head too quickly, and is proud to not only be a free man, but a free African man."_

**…**

**…**

"That woul'n' surprise me as much," Butch muttered, glancing at the muscular African man, "for a guy like him to do that..."

The grey cladded man took a sip of his whiskey and said, "Neither would I."

"Now we have the last two, right?" Butch asked. The man nodded and commented, "Sloth and wrath... For sloth..."

**…**

**…**

_"Demitrius Poloski, or if you hadn't noticed already, 'Scuzz', was not a working man. All he wanted to do was laze around and sleep. He had a job at a bank up in New York but lost that due to his laziness and unorganization. His family have said he was a disgrace to the clan and had beaten him for his behavior. All Demitrius wanted to do by then was to escape the life of the big city and come out to where there was hardly anything happening._

_And so, Texas was, to him, the place for him. By the time he got here, Demitrius has not found a single job; but then again, "the man chuckled, "the boy was 'too tired' to find a job."_

**…**

**…**

That left the man with the last sin: Wrath.

But that didn't seem to be right. Butch has not ever noticed anything too wrathful about Blake; except maybe a few of her threatening actions, of course. So how could she be the sin of wrath?

"H-hold on a sec!" Butch exclaimed. "...This doe'n't make any sense. How is Blake even wrath? She never once said anythin' 'bout anger issues. How could you be sure o' that?" The man looked at Butch with a concerned look. This made Butch feel a little uneasy. "An' she said that someone had killed her whole clan dead." Why was this man giving him this look?

"What did she tell you?" he asked sternly. Butch went ahead and summarized Blake's story, glancing at her table to make sure she wasn't looking. The man in grey just stared at Butch before taking yet another shot of whiskey and saying, "She _lied_ to you."

What?_ Lied_? What was he talking about? "She told you, and her men, her 'dream family'"

Okay. What in the hell is guy talking about? What is this 'dream family'?

"She told you about a family she had always wanted but could never have. Blake would dream of this family each night... But she probably doesn't anymore."

This didn't sound too good. "What did happen? What's she hidin'?" Butch wondered. The man took his knife off of Scuzz's picture and examined it for a few moments. "All she was hiding this whole time," he said, "was what she never wants to mention again for as long as she lived. Something… _very_ awful..."


	8. Wrath - The Truth of Blake

"_Blake has probably told you about how she was raised into a wealthy family, right? Yes. This is true. She told you about the murder, didn't she? That is also true. But this is the real story about her."_

_"Blake was indeed born and raised into a wealthy family. And sometimes, the wealth was abused by the use of alcohol. The whole Thuuman clan was addicted to the taste of alcohol. They needed it to keep their lives in order. But this only made the family three times dysfunctional than they were already. This was something young Blakely could not avoid, even if she had the power to. Blake was, by far, the only Thuuman to never have taken a drink of any type of booze. It was, to the family, a 'rite of passage' to have their first drink at a young age. And Blake refused. She had the gut feeling to not drink the cursed liquid._

_Of course, this made her family irritated. Many times, they would force whiskey down her throat and she would scream in complete terror. She would spit it out; sometimes, it would not work. They would beat the poor child until she bled. Even do things to her she would not want to talk about._

_There was even one instance where she had to serve drinks for a dinner party. The poor girl was rarely given food; that's why she is so skinny to this day. Anyway, one of her aunts had gotten up and dragged Blake to a room. There, some things had gone terribly wrong. The woman, too drunk to know what she was even doing, took Blake and did things in a sexual matter. This was the same for the men. It all left Blake completely hopeless and in fear for her life. She wanted to escape her reality and be free from all the corruption her family was placed in._

_And so, in a result of her insanity, Blake found.. a 'special' friend. A friend that had only lived in her mind. The creature was named Lamia. Lamia was a kind boy just a few years older than her, maybe in his early teens. He was the one who showed her a better side of her life. He was... her only friend. The two would be together, even in the school house. He would be there for her and never leave her side._

_The family, however, noticed that Blake was acting strange with her friend. They had realized that she was becoming... well, not herself anymore. Lamia was dragging her into their own little world. A world where she did not have to face the darkness of her reality. Even through their drunken state, they knew she was becoming insane._

_Then, one night, Lamia told her about a certain feast... A feast where they were able to drink the blood of humans..._"

"A vampire..." Butch muttered. The man nodded and continued...

"_But this was not a sort of lifestyle Blake would have wanted. Lamia insisted that she take this path and be out of her hell of a prison. This was the point where Blake would not have trusted what Lamia would say. He was not surprised, but was disappointed._

_Lamia had figured that, in her young age, she will lose her sanity completely, and be changed for good. He was right._

_One night, Blake's uncle smashed a whiskey bottle across her face. But there was something inside of her that had snapped. Completely. Blake had lost her senses. She attacked her uncle with a large piece of the broken glass and stabbed him multiple times. He survived, but he needed to have the wounds stitched up._

_When Blake had finished attacking him, she felt... a power. She felt a burst of strength inside of her. She wanted more of this. She wanted blood._

_These actions went on for many months. Blake would curse them, make them bleed, break a bone or three, even humiliate them. This time, her clan could not do anything to keep her rage contained. They would threaten to send her to an institution in New York or Philadelphia, but she would retaliate and release her wrath upon them._

_Blake's last action on them to their fate. As soon as the whole house was fast asleep, Lamia woke her and told her to end them. End them all. She was hesitant at first, but Lamia showed her the way to a knife found in the kitchen. When she held that knife in her small hands, she knew what to do._

_Her first victims were her own flesh and blood parents. She had brutally stabbed them while they were asleep; their throats slit open. The blood was out. Lamia told her to drink it. She did. Her thirst for blood had grown quickly. She went to the other rooms and repeated the process. Even had the heart of a cousin's cut out; she ate that._

_Blake, following whatever Lamia wanted her to do, burned the house down to rid of any evidence of her massacre. The light of the fire had woken many of the folks of her town as they had tried to put the fire out, not being very successful. The militia wanted to know who had started the fire, but Blake had already run away before they could question her._

_After this incident, Blake has turned from the innocent beaten child she was to a cold hearted murderer she is to this day..._"

All Butch could even do was sit there, and take all of this in.

Blake. Only a child. Had her heart turned dark in that short amount of time. This was just too unreal...

"Surprised?" the man asked. "Jus'... tryin' ta take in all that you jes' said..." Butch muttered, looking back at Blake's table.

"I... I jus'... Can't even imagine how she had to endure all o' that..." The man nodded and took another swig of whiskey. Butch just stared at his untouched whiskey. "**But**. There was one little thing she missed." Butch turned his attention back to the man. What now?

"There was one person who saw what had happened. He escaped before he could've been killed or burned alive." Butch gave the man a confused look. '_Now what's he sayin'?_' he thought.

"Nobody really knows what came of him. Some say he went off to New York. Some say he owns a plantation. No one knows." _'Why the hell would I care 'bout that, ya crazy lil' shit?!_' Butch said mentally.

"Well I best be get going!" the man announced, taking the paper. But Butch placed his hand on the paper before he could take it. The grey cladded man stared at him in amazement. "Hold on a minute," Butch said, "that don' make any sense. How the hell do you even know 'bout all them? Even more 'bout Blake?"

The man grinned and let Butch have the paper. He sat back down and said briefly. "Blake had a caring cousin named Joe. He treated her very kindly and not like how the clan did. He was the only one who didn't drink heavily. Blake trusted him so much, she had told him about her little world and friend. He even noted her development from sane to insane. Even, like I said, escaped her wrath."

Butch didn't know what he was talking about. "Where ya goin' wit' all this?" he asked.

The man grinned again, got up, and was right next to Butch's ear when he whispered, "My name is Jose 'Joe' Montezuma. I am Blake's sole surviving victim. Her cousin by marriage."


	9. Fatherly Promise

**_Author's Note: Sorry this took a while to upload. I had to force myself to stop playing Unfair Mario/Platformer XD _**

**_..._**

_Butch sat there in shock and confusion. Joe? He made it? But what was he doing __**here**__? He __**did**__ realize Blake was just a yard away from them, right?_

_"Wai-what're ya-" Butch couldn't finish his sentence, because Joe was nowhere to be found. Butch looked all over the saloon to see him, but couldn't. He was gone. Butch then started to stare out into space, so lost in thought._

_"Butch! Ya feelin' alright?" The sound of her voice nearly made him jump out of his skin. He looked over at Blake and her gang, Blake's eyebrow raised. Butch hesitated, then shook his head and said, "Yeah. I'm fine... I-I'll be o'er there in a bit." Butch grabbed his whiskey and moved over to Blake's table, still not noticing the looks of the gang on him..._

**...**

**...**

**...**

That conversation kept replaying in his head all night, making him toss and turn in the bed. He just couldn't sleep thanks to him.

The gangs decided to rent rooms in the saloon for the night, in which Blake and Butch shared one.

_'My name is Jose 'Joe' Montezuma...'_ Why does that name keep ringing in his head? _'God jus' lemme __**alone**__!'_ he thought. He couldn't stand it anymore and sat up in the bed. He slicked his hair back and looked over to where Blake was sleeping. Her back was facing him while Japhet slept in her hat, mimicking a bird's nest.

Butch wondered what the girl could be thinking of; what she was dreaming of. He would have asked her, but that probably wasn't the smartest idea. That one time he was only given a vague answer...

**...**

**...**

**...**

_"So, uh, Butch? Could I, uh, ask ya somethin'?" Blake asked taking her hat off. Butch looked at her with his eyebrows raised. "Who were ya talkin' to o'er there at the bar?" she asked. He stared at her for a few seconds, realizing she was talking about the man in grey; her cousin Joe. "Eh jus' some crazy ol' guy. Think he was a lil' too drunk," he replied with a lie. Blake giggled. Japhet perched on the arm of the couch before Blake had to shoo him off and make him get in her hat._

_Then Butch had to ask. "Blake. I'm jes' curious..." Blake turned to him as she was taking her coat off. She raised an eyebrow. "...Did, um... Did you ever... Had an urge to kill a mass amount o' people?" Blake stared at him for a good long 10 seconds before responding. "If I did, then that woulda been a dream. I wouldn' even think about doin' somethin' crazy like that," she said taking her coat off and leaving her corset top on; but Butch knew better._

_He knew she was lying. But he also knew she was just trying hard to keep that dark secret to herself; and that she doesn't want anyone else to know about it either. "Why'd ya ask?" she asked. "I, um, was jus' wonderin'. Curious..." Butch muttered, unbuttoning his vest. Blake kept looking at Butch with a puzzled look on her face. She wondered as to why Butch had even asked that question, like he had somehow figured out what her past was like._

_Butch noticed her staring at him. "You alright?" he asked. Blake blinked and replied, "Um yeah. I'm fine..." she muttered. Blake stretched. "Well I'm gonna be sleepin' here," she said before plopping on the couch and falling asleep. "Night..." she muttered. Butch turned out the light. "Night," he replied before taking his shirt off..._

**...**

**...**

**...**

He knew that if Joe and Blake had ever met again, then certainly, something bad would happen. He had to not let her know about Joe's survival. Only God knows what her reaction would be; and he knew it wouldn't be pretty. Blake flipped over to her other side.

Of course, he knew Blake had her gang to rely on, even if some of them were a bunch of greedy jackasses. Seems like she didn't mind that fact. Butch chuckled to himself at the thought. He looked down at the floor, hearing the dying commotion of the saloon from below, then back at Blake, slightly shivering from the cool of the desert night. He could see Japhet ruffling his feathers and settling back into his makeshift nest.

He felt a little tug in his heart when he heard Blake mutter something. Butch slicked his hair back while keeping his eyes on Blake, just wondering what was going through her mind. He, without thinking, got out of his bed, adjusted his pants, and got his coat from the nearby chair. He crept over to where Blake was and gently put his coat on her.

Butch knelt down by her side... and smiled. Not his signature one, but an actual one. He realized that she didn't look all that threatening when she was asleep.

Butch glanced over at the sleeping white monster bird and back to Blake, and placed a small kiss on her forehead. He ruffled her hair, keeping the smile on his face, and stood up. The sound of a bird chirping nearly made him jump out of his skin. Butch found the source of the sound and realized it was just Japhet, staring right at him with his crimson red eyes.

Butch glared at the eagle and muttered, "You say anythin' ta her, you'll be on the table all roasted." Japhet only ruffled his feathers.

**...**

**...**

**...**

Butch laid there wide awake. He had that same scenario playing in his head again and again. What if Blake and Joe did ever meet again? Which one would go down first? What if... What if Blake got killed? How could he-

Butch snapped out of it and kept staring at the ceiling. He massaged his face and thought to himself, _'She can't know about this. I jus' know it. She...'_ He didn't need to finish his thought.

He knew what he had to do: Protect Blake. Like a father would. And keep her alive and away from Joe as much as possible.


	10. The Train Robbery

It had only been three weeks since Butch had his meeting with Joe. And since then he knew he had to protect Blake from him. God knows what would happen if they ever came each other's paths. _'Jus' keep 'er away fro' him!'_ he thought. _'It'll be fine...'_

As Butch thought about this, he and his gang caught up with Blake's. They were on their horses, close to the ledge of a cliff, looking out in the horizon. She was trying to explain something to them before she stopped and looked over her shoulder seeing Butch and his guys coming up.

"What're y'all talkin' 'bout?" he asked out of complete curiosity. "There's a train a-comin' up. An' we're supposed to rob it," Edgar summarized. Blake nodded and added, "Heard dis one's suppose ta have a shitload o' rich people in it." Blake smirked. "This oughta be fun~," she added.

Edgar got out his pocket watch and checked the time. "Should be coming right about now," he announced. Edgar took his hat off and slicked his blonde hair back and put the hat back on.

Freighter looked out over the track's direction and saw black smoke coming towards them. "There they are!" Freighter announced. Both gangs snapped their heads at Freighter's direction, seeing the smoke as well. "Right on time," Edgar muttered. Blake smirked again and got something out of her bag. Her horse snorted and acted a little nervous like it knew its master was about to do something evil.

Blake put on a deer skull mask except its antlers were missing. She had somehow replaced the front teeth with wolf's teeth. The others took out bandanas and covered their half their faces. Ray tapped Butch's shoulder and whispered, "Whaddya think they're doin' wit' those masks?" Butch shook his head. "God knows..." He muttered. "Maybe that mask's why she's also called 'Night Demon'," Skinny murmured.

Well now that was new on him. Then again, that name did make sense. Blake turned her head towards Butch and his gang. "While we git on that train, we wantcha ta git as close to th' engine as possible, slow or stop that train, an' if ya can, make sure th' ol' conductor do'nt squel 'bout this~," Blake explained to them. Hold on. She didn't mean kill the guy, did she?

"Gotcha, boss-ma'am...!" Ray said. Butch slapped the poor fellow on the back of the head; Blake rolled her eyes in amusement. They heard the train horn blow. "That's ou' signal, boss-mate!" Walliwitz exclaimed. "Right...," Blake muttered. Japhet took off flying. "Let's go!"

And they rode off.

**...**

**...**

**...**

Butch watched as the gang rode off after the iron horse. He turns back to his guys and says, "Well you heard the lady!" And rode off in the train's direction. The gang nervously followed suit.

**...**

**...**

**...**

Thomas, a Texas Ranger, was among the three Rangers in the train. He didn't seem to mind the chatter of the plantation owners visiting Colby. He never noticed the difference between a western and a southern accent so this was really nothing to him. Dan Reid came up to him and jokingly commented, "Doe'nt look like these southerners don' need to get around Colby, now don' they?" Thomas chuckled and replied, "Might not wanna judge these folks too soon."

As the Rangers kept an eye on the party, Jake and Walliwitz jumped on the train and climbed up on the roof. Scuzz and Blake took the one with the Rangers in it, and Freighter and Edgar got another. The sound of boots on metal could be barely audible over the commotion of the party. Dan and the other two Rangers looked up to the ceiling towards the sound.

Thomas looked out the window and saw two silhouettes **ON THE ****_ROOF_**** OF THE TRAIN**! The sound of boots stopped and the sudden sound of a door slid open and then: "Hope y'all don' have anythin' importan' in town!"

The Rangers turned and saw two masked thugs; one with a skull mask and the other with just a blue bandana. They must have used these masks as a way to intimidate the owners because it was working; but not for them. The Rangers pulled out their guns as Dan yelled, "What th' hell do you two think yer doin' here?!" Blake and Scuzz saw that there were three Rangers in the car. "You jes' had ta pick the one with damn Rangers in it, didn' ya?!" Blake pouted, looking at the grey-blue eyed young man. Scuzz rolled his eyes in annoyance and said, "Well s-s-s-sorry!"

**...**

**...**

**...**

Jake adjusted his light purple bandana (commonly mistaken for pink) covering his face while Walliwitz opened the door. The duo went in and the folks, more plantation owners, were either shocked or scared. "Looks like none o' y'all 'ave ever seen anyt'in' like us!" Jake exclaimed. "Now jes' come clean, an'-"

"What's wit' th' bandana?" asked one of the plantation owners, pointing out Jake's 'pinkish' bandana. The owners laughed under their breath. This had angered Jake, and so, as a result, he shot the owner square in the head and killed him. The car went silent, now knowing this is a serious matter. "**ANYONE ****_ELSE_****?**" Jake asked. Everyone shook their heads and passed their valuables up to the masked men. Jake and Walliwitz chuckled at their success.

**...**

**...**

**...**

"C'mon! Don' be shy! Jus' put 'em in the **damn bag**!" Freighter ordered. Edgar examined one of their prizes: a beautifully welded dagger, hand-and-a-half long blade, silver handle. He stepped out of the gruff African man's way as he went down the aisle, stopping at the last seat. "'Ey! Cha hear me?! In the damn bag, rich man!" he yelled pointing his gun at him. The man had not moved nor looked up at him when he came up. But the sound of his voice eventually made him look up. Freighter was caught off guard when he saw that the grey cladded man was not even surprised or frightened by this situation.

He grinned and dropped something in the bag. "Make sure she gets that..." he said. Who in the hell was he talking about? _'She'? He mean boss?'_

**...**

**...**

**...**

The conductor, a man in his mid-fifties, gruff, bald man, was minding his own business, chatting with his assistant. Suddenly, they thought they heard a screeching sound. They checked the engine and found nothing. Seconds later, they heard it again. This time, they found a ginormous white eagle staring directly at them. The conductor told his assistant to get the shovel... but he never showed up. He was lying on the ground dead, bleeding from his back.

The conductor looked in horror at the dead. He decided to grab the shovel and kick the bird out but a gun clicking made him stop right in his tracks. "I wouldn' do that if I were you~." He turned his head and saw Butch pointing his gun right at his head. The conductor raised his hands over his head, but Japhet attacked him and he fell off the train and broke his neck and died. Butch smirked at the bird and said, "...I knew there was a reason I liked ya."

Japhet screeched.

**...**

**...**

**...**

Blake and Scuzz had been standing off with the Rangers for what felt like hours when really it was just two minutes. They kept negotiating. "'Kay now look here, Rangers. We can do this th' easy way, or th' hard way. We git our riches an' jes make our way out._ Or_... Jes' take a bullet in th' gut. Yer choice, dear Rangers~," Blake said slyly.

Dan knew this situation was going to turn bad if they didn't do anything. "If you... Either of _you_ were to so shoot any o' these good fellas, you two'll be hangin' high in town," Dan said. "I-I-I don' th-think that'll be n-n-n-necessary," Scuzz stuttered with a grin.

Suddenly, the train jerked forward, the train had started gaining speed. The Rangers went forward face first, but Blake and Scuzz held their ground and started shooting. The plantation owners went for cover, screaming in terror. The duo grabbed as many valuable that were dropped and high-tailed it out of there, running for the engine.

The two climbed to the roof of the car, seeing the rest of the gang up on the roof of their cars and run to them. Scuzz and Blake lead them but were stopped by a Ranger.

Wait.

There were only three from what Blake saw. Where did this other Ranger come from? "Goin' _somewhere_, thieves?" the Ranger asked. Scuzz looked at Blake, who had her hands raised. "Yes, sir!" she said. Scuzz remarked, "No we're not!"

"Yes we **_are_**!"

"No we **_ain't_**!"

The Ranger looked back and forth between the two robbers like they were an old married couple. He soon had enough. "Will you two **quit**! Yer actin' like lil' kids!" The two looked back at the Ranger, Blake's arms still raised. Scuzz now realized why she had her arms raised: there was a hook on a incoming pole. "Yeah. We, uh, we-we're goin'!" said Scuzz. Before the Ranger could do anything, Blake and Scuzz were lifted off the train. The duo came back around and Scuzz kicked him in the back, making him fall off the train.

They landed on their feet back on the train, and they smirked at each other. The gang climbed down and found their horses waiting for them while running. Japhet flew towards Blake and screeched. Blake looked at her gang and said, "Let's git outta here!" and jumped on her Nightmare. The rest got on theirs and rode off with their collections.

Butch and his guys caught up with them and they rode off, leaving the runaway train rescue to the Rangers.


	11. A Tergo Nunquam Recedat Domusque

The two gangs gathered around the campfire, checking out their 'new' possessions. Everyone was laughing, especially Edgar. Knowing him well. Each went around and showed everyone what they had. "Got me this real nice lookin' knife~. Got some silvah on it. Reeeal nice~," Freighter said, putting the dagger in his own holster. "Well technically, Freighter, I was the one who-a took it," Edgar noted. "Shut it, Mafia boy!" snapped Freighter. Everyone chuckled, minus Edgar of course.

Blake got out a silver pocket watch. It was tarnished but she said, "It could be worth somethin'. Who knows." Scuzz started fiddling with another pocket watch that Freighter had. "Aint it weird tha' all those folks had were pocket watches?" Skinny asked, fiddling with the foral bonnet on his head. Blake wondered why he had thing on his head.

"Might as well say all those rich fol's were jes a bunch o' plantation owners down south," Blake noted. "What kinda plantation?"

"The hell I'd know. Tobacco in Kentucky. Cotton in Tennessee an' Mississippi." Scuzz opened the pocket watch. "There's so many plantations I prob'bly wouldn' keep track o' dem all."

"Hey! Um...Th-th-there's someth-thin' etched in, eh, h-h-here!" Scuzz announced. All head turned to him. Ray leaned down and whispered in Blake's ear, "Why's he stutterin' like that?" Blake shook her head. "Been doin' that since we recruited 'im." The hearing of an etching in a pocket watch caught her attention though. "What's it say?" she asked.

Scuzz tried to read it... but: "I, uh, I d-dunno, b-boss... It's wr-wr-written in, uh... In some sorta... Sorta weird langu-uage." And he shook his head. "Wha'? Too illiterate?" Freighter said jokingly. The whole crew laughed at the joke, Blake just rolled her eyes. Scuzz glared at the Freighter and replied, "If I...If I was, th-then why'd you git st-stuck wit' a smart ass l-like me?" The echo of 'Oooh's went around the fire, Freighter death glared back at him; Scuzz smirked.

Scuzz knelt down towards the fire and muttered, "Really... C-c-cain't see real w-well..." He pursed his lips as he tried to read the etching. "...A T-t-ter...tergo... uhm, n-n-nunq-q-quam rec-cedat domusq-q-que...," he interpreted. Blake's heart stopped, her eyes widened and jaw dropped. "Whaddya sup...suppose tha' mean-" Scuzz saw Blake staring directly at him. He looked back with a confused look, eyes darting left and right and back to her. "...What?"

"...gimme that watch," Blake muttered holdig her hand out. Scuzz became even more confused when she said that. "Wh-wh-whaddya-"

"Gimme. The goddamn-"

He tossed it over the fire with a whimper before she finished, knowing her short temper. She caught it with her eyes still on Scuzz. She brought the watch closer to her as Butch looked over her shoulder. Blake opened the watch and looked at what Scuzz was trying to read.

"A tergo nunquam recedat domusque..." Blake muttered.

No. It can't be.

"What does that mean?" Skinny asked. Blake was silent for a few seconds before replying. "It says 'Don't Leave Your Family Behind'. It's in Latin." "Who in their right would-a speak Latin these-a days?" Edgar blurted out. Blake looked at him and remarked, "Apparently someone who's damn smart enou' ta even know that..."

Blake kept staring at the pocket watch. Memories came flooding in from nowhere and into her mind...

...

...

...

_Running on her way to the local bank, Blake giggled as she couldn't wait to see her cousin Joe. She also couldn't decide whether to cover her left eye or her right eye with her hair, but that really didn't matter. Blake found her way to the doors of the enormous bank and pried open the doors. She straightened out her raggedy dress and went off searching for her cousin._

_After five minutes, she thought he had left already. Blake felt a little sad, when suddenly: "What's a pretty primanita like you doing here?" Blake's heart jumped and she turned around and saw the tall Hispanic accented man dressed nicely in grey kneeling down to her eye level. She gave him her genuine smile and said, "Ya scared me, Joe!" Joe chuckled and said, "I'm terribly sorry, Blakely. Well I'm off now, so... Want to get ice cream?"_

_Knowing a young child hearing this offer, she by impulse nodded happily and smiled widely. "Yes!" and took his hand. The two came back to the steps of the bank after treating themselves to a cone. It was rare for Blake to get such a sweet treat, knowing her crap living conditions. Joe couldn't help but to give a smile as he watched her lick the frozen treat off the cone. He took one lick and took out his silver pocket watch. He opened it and scanned the etching in the lid of the watch._

_"Whatcha got there?" Blake asked, very curious. Joe looked at her and leaned down to show her the watch. "This was my father's. He handed it down to me before he... went to The Other Side. And it was even his father's," he said. Blake finished her ice cream and licked her fingers off and held out her hand. Joe grinned and gave it to her to look at it. Blake noticed the etching in the watch's lid._

_"What's this say?" she asked. Joe noted her confused look at the Latin etching. He gave her a smile and explained, "It says '_A tergo nunquam recedat domusque_.'" Blake giggled. "What 'oes that mean?"_

_"It means '_Don't leave your family behind'_. And I have kept that motto with me ever since my father, your great uncle, gave it to me. And I think you should carry that message with you as well."_

_She figured he meant he wanted her to have it. But she knew she couldn't keep it either, knowing that her parents would accuse her of stealing it. So Blake shook her head. Joe understood, and said, "I know. Maybe when you are older. And you decide to leave town..."_

...

...

...

"No. I'll think on it. Maybe I will~!" Blake said to herself.

And out loud.

Every one of the guys, even Butch, stared at her with a mixed look of confusion, shock, scared, and what the fuck. Blake still didn't realize they were looking at her in such a sudden cheery mood. Skinny leaned over to Jake and whispered, "Okay. Yo lil' boss is really startin' ta creep me out. She eveh like tha'?" Jake shook his head slowly and replied quietly, "Not once. An' Ah don' blame ya."

Butch had enough with the creepy talking-to-yourself from Blake and shook her shoulder to snap her out of her trance. Blake blinked rapidly and snapped her head up, seeing that everyone was looking directly at her. She blushed madly by this and said, "Wh-why're y'all lookin' at me like that?" Freighter pursed his lips and pointed his finger up to the sky and said hesitantly, "...Yooooou were... Uh, how could I say this, talkin' to yoself..."

Blake's blush deepened as she sighed. "I did it out loud, din' I?" she asked. Freighter nodded, pursing his lips again. Blake, mortified, buries her face in her hands and curses to herself. Butch shakes his head and sighs as the guys chuckle at the little incident.

After recovering from her embarrassment, Blake stares off into the fire, not really caring about what the guys were talking about. Her one hand held her chin, the other fiddled with the pocket watch. Her rusty red and blue eyes gazed on the slowly dying fire, more memories flooded in. She thought she was hearing screams of terror around the camp...

**…**

**…**

**…**

_The whole house was in flames. Nobody can do anything. All they can do is panic and scream._

_Their screams made Blake feel good inside. She wanted them to be in pain just like she was._

_"Did I do good, Lamia~?" Blake asked. The British boy came out from the flames unharmed with a demonic grin. He replied softly, "Yu did fine, Blake~. Now we have to run."_

_And so they ran. Ran far away before any of the militia arrived to put it out…_

**…**

**…**

**…**

"Blake?" Butch said shaking her shoulder. Blake snapped out of her trance and looked at Butch. '_Oh God did I do it again?_' she thought. "Thought chu was dead there for a sec!" Butch joked. She just rolled her eyes before rubbing them. "Welp, I'm getting' kinda tired, 'nyway…"

Most of the guys were asleep as well. Butch leaned on the log supporting him and put his hat over his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest. She looked over at Butch and had a small grin on her face. Blake glanced up at the night sky then back to the dying fire. As Blake lie down, she put her head against Butch's shoulder and put her hat over her eyes.

It took Blake a while to actually fall asleep, however. She had a felling… that she was being watched.


	12. Lamia

...

_"Yer a __**thief**__!"_

...

_"You ain't __**not'in'**__ but a __**liar!**__"_

_"You cain't do not'in' __**right!**__"_

...

_"Why don'cha jes go ta __**Hell**__! Ya lil' __**brat!**__"_

_"Ya don' like it here?! __**Git out**__ then!"_

**_"GIT OUT!"_**

Blake snapped her eyes open, bolted straight up and started to hyperventilate. She scanned the camp while wiping the sweat and tears from her eyes. No one was awake yet; but then again, it was still dark. Blake looked over and saw Butch still asleep. Blake rubbed her eyes again and checked the camp again. She thought- No. She _knew_ there was something out there. Or maybe some_one_.

Blake quietly stood up, never bothering to put neither her hat nor her coat on. All she did was place her revolvers and knife in their holsters and stepped over the sleeping men. Blake looked around again and didn't see anything that looked out of the ordinary. But one thing that Blake did notice, however, was a pathway that she thought was not there earlier. Blake walked towards the pathway and looked around. All there was, as she was expecting, was trees… and dirt. But she still had that gut feeling that someone was out there, watching her every move.

When she knew she had gotten far from the camp, she called out, "Anyone out here?"

Silence.

Blake rolled her eyes in annoyance. "C'_mon_! I know yer out there!"

Silence again.

A twig snapped. Blake quickly drew her gun out and pointed it at the source of the sound. Nothing was there. Blake took her knife out. "Come **on**! Stop **fuckin'** around!" Whatever this was, it was starting to make her furious.

That's when she heard it. _That_ chuckle.

Blake looked around to try to find the source of that laughter. By now the laughter was rising and this was driving her insane. The laughing had stopped but she thought it was still going on. She felt like the patch was spinning in circles. She needed it to stop.

The patch seemed to have stopped spinning. The laughter finally stopped as well.

"Haven't changed a bit the last time I saw you," said a deep British voice. Blake's heart skipped a beat by the voice. She definitely knew that voice. There was no mistaking that voice. She turned to the sound of the voice and saw the glowing pale blue-green eyes looking right at her.

Blake put her gun down and relaxed. She knew those eyes from anywhere. "_Lamia_..." Blake muttered, barely audible. The figure chuckled and stepped out of the shadows and into the moonlit opening. The figure turned out to be a British accented man with wavy dark brown hair, dark blue-green eyes, a black suit and white shirt, black pants and boots. He had high cheek bones and a raucous nose.

**(Author's note: If you guys are trying to figure out what Lamia looks like, think of Benedict Cumberbatch wearing Robert Downey, Jr.'s Sherlock Holmes outfit. And then think of him as being ****_his_**** Sherlock Holmes. Same attitude and personality)**

Blake bluntly looks at Lamia and says, "Thought I wouldn' see yer face again." "Very true, dear Blakely~. _Now_: How _long_ has it been since we last saw each other~?" He sarcastically asked in his usual sly tone. "Not since I destroyed mah whole clan like ya _tol'_ me to...," Blake muttered. The spirit man nodded. "I knew you had to escape from that damned hell of a place they so called a 'home'. You knew you wanted to escape from your cursed reality. You can't tell me I am denying that, can you~?" He said. Blake didn't make eye contact with him, but she knew he was right. "Sometimes I thin' that... Maybe you coul' somehow be wron' 'bout somethin'... But I jes don' know what...," she said looking back at him.

Lamia figured she meant intentionally killing her family not because she had hated them, but for something else. "Well what other choice did you have? You knew you wouldn't survive the next day in that place," he stated.

"True... But I coulda jes ran off an' never come back-"

"They would have killed you if you got anywhere far from there."

"Well what other option was I suppose ta have?"

"You _summoned_ me from your _own_ blood!"

She definitely couldn't deny that; he was right about that. She _did_ summon him with her own blood. She actually remembered that night in her room after taking one of the black magic books she had borrowed from her cousin...

**...**

**...**

**...**

_After Blake had finished serving the party beverages and was given her tips (she really didn't get to keep them however, and instead her parents snagged them from her), she snuck out from the party and went up to Joe shyly. "Could I borrow one of yer books, please?" she asked politely. Joe smiled and gave her his keys to the room. "Make sure you give them back, Blakely," he said gently. Blake nodded with a smile and went upstairs to find his room; which it really wasn't a room, it was more like a miniature library._

_Once she found the room, she examined the rows and rows of books. Once she found the book she wanted, a summoning spell book, she closed the door quietly as to not make a ruckus down stairs. Once Blake locked the door, she went to the attic and put the book down and brought the keys back to Joe._

_Blake ran back up to the attic and closed the door. Blake gathered all the materials she needed for the ritual. She opened the book and scanned through the book to see what she would want to summon. Blake figured a vampire would be too cheesy to appear, definitely not a werewolf or a witch. She did, however, stop at a page that caught her attention: a boogeyman._

_She smiled from excitement and kept the page open and found her knife. She drew a pentagram, lit the stick-like black candles, placed a small bowl in the center of the pentagram and placed herself there as well. She put the bowl between her and the book and began the spell. "Natum ad a necral dona in tan la noc. Natum ad a necral dona in tan la noc. Natum ad a necral dona __**in tan la noc**__!"_

_Blake took the knife and slowly put the knife dangerously close to her eye and brought it to the bridge of her nose. She took the blood from the cut and placed it in the bowl along with the hair she had put in there earlier and started chanting again, this time she had enormous amount of energy in her body._

_"Natum ad a necral dona in tan la noc."_

_The candles flickered._

_"Natum ad a necral dona __**in tan la noc**__!"_

_The pentagram glowed._

**_"Natum ad a necral dona in tan la noc!"_**

_The candles went out. The glowing ceased. Blake was knocked out..._

**...**

**...**

**...**

In all honesty, that was all she could remember before she had blacked out. Blake looked at the ground in defeat. "You see, Blake, you were desperate to have someone to talk to. So you used your own blood and hair to find me," Lamia stated. Blake kept looking at the ground. She felt him come closer to her. So close even that he was already within an inch from her. "So you summoned someone who would teach you how to put a knife through someone, use a gun against a man. You... you summoned _me_..."

Blake nodded slowly and replied softly, "I figured I couldn' do ever'thin' alone... I needed help..."

They stood there in the quiet for a few moments before Lamia said something. "I need you to do one request for me."

"An' wha' would that be...?"

"I need you to go to some place. A place you may remember..."

Blake looked up at the spirit man.

"...You need to go back..."


	13. Dead Survivors Pt 1 (Clarabelle)

"Whaddya-"

Then a huge wave of pain flowed through her body as Lamia jabbed her. Her eyes widened from the pain. Her world was spinning, making her nauseous.

Lamia leaned down and whispered something she thought she wouldn't hear from again.

"_Clarton..._"

**...**

**...**

**...**

Blake awoke with a jolt. She looked around and saw that the guys were still asleep. Blake wiped her forehead and noticed she was sweating. She looked up and saw that the sky was just breaking into dawn. Japhet came flying down with a rabbit that he must have recently caught. He gave it to her for her to have breakfast. Blake grinned and nudged the eagle with her index finger and took the dead animal.

But before she took it, she felt like she was being watched. She looked around but didn't see anything. She shrugged the feeling off and took her knife out. She was going to skin it but she looked up and saw Lamia standing right at the foot of the camp. Blake nearly jumped out of her skin when she spotted him. They looked into each other's eyes for a moment before Lamia said, "Go back… To Clarton…" before they felt a slight breeze and he disappeared. Blake stared at the space where Lamia had stood and muttered, "I gotta start drinkin' water before I go ta sleep…"

**…**

**…**

**…**

The gangs have been riding for about 4 hours in the blazing heat now. She knew they were aching to at least get off their horses for just a moment, but she also knew they couldn't stop and needed to keep moving. Blake was leading the gangs to the town; her hometown. She really hasn't said anything in those past hours, minus what looks like talking to herself. "Ha'en't been back to dat damn place since tha' incident… Wonder if anyone would remember me…" Lamia, who was walking beside her (and unnoticed by the others) nodded slowly and adjusted his coat. "It wouldn't be much of a surprise, too, if they didn't remember. People, Blake," he said, "will tend to move on with their lives." She couldn't disagree with him on that. "Suppose so…" she muttered. Behind her, Butch was starting to get worried about Blake's behavior now. Ever since Scuzz had gotten that pocket watch out the other night, she had been acting like the watch was a long lost friend. He suddenly felt a nudge on his arm.

"Whaddya suppose 's bitin' Blake?" Ray whispered. Butch only shook his head. "Migh' have somet'in' ta do wit' that watch fer all I know," he replied. "Y-y-ya know, I.. I,uh, I coulda jes t-t-t-taken tha' ol' watch b-b-b-back, Butch," Scuzz offered. Butch looked over at the stuttering scuzzy young man right next to him. "Ya really don' have ta-"

"**HOLD UP!**" Blake ordered raising her hand up for a halt. They all stopped their horses just a few feet away from Blake and her horse. Something was making both Blake and Lamia uneasy. "Somethin' do'en' feel righ'…" she announced. "Well now what's the bloody problem?" Edgar complained. "Not so sure, Ed…" Blake quietly replied. She smelled the air. It was filled with some sort of burning smell. "Anyone else smell that?" Blake asked making sure she wasn't crazy. The sniffed the air. "It ain't you," Skinny replied. "It's pretty fain' though, si- er, I mean, ma'am."

Blake nodded and smelled the air again, not hearing Butch all her name.

That's when it had hit her.

Burning wood… and flesh.

Blake took off on her horse; Japhet took off flying in her direction. Butch screamed her name before she had gotten too far for her to hear them. He looked at the gangs and yelled, "The Hell y'all lookin' at?" and took off after her, the gangs followed suit. Blake had a gut feeling now that something was not supposed to have happened all those years. Blake didn't hear them catching up to her and yelling her name. "Now wha' de hell's up wit' her?" Freighter asked loudly. Butch replied back, "Jes' catch up ta her!" '_Blake, ya better be careful there…_' he thought.

Blake could see the smoke rising as she got closer, panic filled her face. Her heart was racing by the second. "Something's wrong! I don't sense any sign of life in this place!" Lamia explained as he was right beside her. '_Tha' didn' help!_' Blake thought to herself.

Blake found the sign pointing to her town but it was all tattered and chopped up. The smoke filled her senses as she got even closer to the town… And found something she was never expecting.

Clarton. Her home… Was in ruins.

Blake got off her horse slowly and just looked about at the burned down city. Her eyes widened in horror at the sight of the destruction. She heard Butch call her name out. "Blake!" but she didn't turn around and watch them come in and see the looks of shock on their faces. They got off and stood next to Blake, gaping in disgust and horror. "Dios mío…" Jesús muttered in his native tongue.

The whole town was in complete burnt ruins. Bodies of innocent townsfolk were everywhere. The bodies were either shot to death, had a limb lost, gutted open, or stabbed to death. Ray had to turn around and throw up from the sight. Blake was the first one to slowly step into the destruction and take a better look at it. She took her hand and gently slid it against a hitching post. She could see quick visions of people screaming in terror, running like a chicken with its head cut off, buildings collapsing from the burning fire.

Blake stopped at the bank and said, "See if y'all can fin' any thin'. Find somethin'. I don' care what it is…" and went further down the down. Butch turned to the gangs and nodded. He went and followed Blake while everyone else spread out.

Edgar took Scuzz to the bank and investigated the destruction in there. Scuzz, however, stopped at the door way. He felt like he had been here before. "Ed!" he called out. Edgar turned around to him. "… Wh-wh-what was th' n-name of this p-p-place again?" he asked. Edgar replied monotonously, "Clarton. That's what-a she said." '_Clarton…_', Scuzz thought…

**…**

**…**

**…**

_"Do you really have ta go, Scotty?" whined Clarabelle. "Y-y-yeah.. Mah boss'll h-have mah h-head if I d-d-don' show up," Scuzz sadly sighed. He had only been here for two weeks, but that was his only time away from Blake, his boss. And now he had to leave. "Surely yer boss would understan' 'bout us." "I'm s-s-sure 'bout it, b-b-b-but knowin' th-that girl…" Scuzz muttered._

_"But y-y-ya know wh-what." Clarabelle looked up at her fiance, "I-i-i-I'll be back…. Fer th' b-b-both o' ya," he assured putting his hand on her slightly swollen belly. She gave him her beautiful smile and pulled him down for a kiss. The two kissed passionately for a while until Scuzz broke it to breathe._

_He mounted on his horse and bid his lover farewell, and rode off…_

**…**

**…**

**…**

"SCUZZ!" Scuzz jumped on his spot and didn't realize he was still at the doorway. Edgar gave him a 'hurry up!' look and went up the stairs. Scuzz stepped over the bodies and followed Edgar.

**…**

**…**

**…**

Blake kept walking until she found a school house. She stood at the entrance for a long time, just looking at it. She felt Butch coming from behind. "I use ta go ta this school…" she said in a quiet tone. "I kinda assume ya didn' have alotta friends back then," Butch wondered out loud. Blake nodded. "Yeah. Not a lot."

Blake walked up to the one room building and saw the inside. Not much changed since she was there years ago. Minus the dead bodies of course. She looked over in the corner of the room and saw bodies of young kids piled up. It disgusted her. She looked over in the other corner and saw the body of the teacher, a woman probably in her early twenties. Blake turned to leave the school house… until she heard something move.

Butch came in and saw the mass pile of bodies in the corner. He just shook his head slowly in disgust.

Blake slowly walked over to what she assumed was the teacher and knelt down to examine her. She nudged the woman to see if she was really dead. Blake raised an eyebrow as she noticed the woman was holding on to what she thought was a baby.

The woman opened her eyes widely.

Blake yelped and crab walked away from her before she hit a desk. Butch turned around and saw Blake; her look looked like she had seen a ghost. While still trying to collect herself, Blake lifted her finger and pointed to the woman, saying shakily, "I-I think sh-she's still alive!"

He though the talking-to-yourself was weird enough, but to say that a dead woman was still _alive_?! Butch gave Blake a judgmental look. She saw his look. "I'm serious! Look at her!" The woman lifted herself and said in a low tone, "I'm sorry…"

Okay. _Now_ he definitely believed her. Blake put her hand over where her heart was and said, "Good _God_! Don' do that ta me!" The woman nodded and apologized again. Butch walked over to the woman and knelt down to her eye level and asked, "How long have ya been here?" "'bout a few days…," she recollected. Once Blake recovered from her jump scare heart attack, she scooted over to hear the conversation.

"Wha' de hell happened here?" Blake asked. Butch turned to her but the woman replied, "Someone.. A man-"

"Nobody was wit' him?"

She shook her head.

"The man, didn' really git ta see what his face looked like, he… he had a book. He used it an' next thin' I knew, th' whole town got caught in all these flames… He.. I think he summoned these demons of some sort…"

Butch looked at Blake and whispered, "Whaddya think?" She hesitated for a moment. Then she asked, "Did ya, by 'ny chance, see wha' th' man looked like?" The woman tried to remember but she weakly shrugged and replied, "All I remember is he wore grey."

Cue Butch's look of realization. _Joe!_

"Is… Are you Blake…?" the woman suddenly asked. Blake, still looking at the woman, points to herself in slight confusion. "Why?" She smiled, "Is… is Scotty wit' ya…?" 'Scotty?' That's when she realized the woman meant Scuzz. "Oh! Yeah, he's here! He's with us." The woman smiled weakly. "Could any of you bring him to me…?" Butch nodded and stood up to walk out the door. He stopped and turned to the woman, saying, "By th' way, what was yer name again?"

She simply replied, "Clarabelle…"

**…**

**…**

**…**

Scuzz stumbled on the dead bodies going up the steps to the second floor. '_Damn! Didn't thin' a bank coul' have dis many floors!_" he thought to himself. He followed Edgar into the second floor's safe area. More bodies were thrown everywhere. Edgar pokes one of them with his cane. "Looks like every one o' them's been dead for a few days now!" He lifts one of the heads. "Definitely not something a normal human could-a do." Scuzz noted then that burn marks on the bodies weren't something a torch would do. So how could this be possible?

"Scuzz?!" a voice called out. Scuzz lifted his head and looked at Edgar. "Who-"

"**SCUZZ!**" called out the voice but louder. This time, Scuzz ran down the stairs, but tripped on the last few steps and face planted on the floor. Butch face palmed himself from the humility. Once Scuzz recoiled from the fall, he came up to Butch and asked what the deal was. "Well, um.. did you know anybody tha' lived here?"

Scuzz thought about it for a second before shrugging and said, "Well, um, I, uh, I g-got a gir-er uh, f-f-ianc-c-e Clarab-b-belle. Why?"

"We found her."

**…**

**…**

**…**

"You been hidin' here for _how _long now?" Bake asked. "Three days…" Clarabelle said tiredly. "How 'bout th' baby? How long's he-"

"It's a girl."

"Oh. Well,uh, how long's _she_ been born?"

"Just a week…" The sound of her tone didn't sound so good.

"You think she'll be able ta see him?"

"'fraid not…"

"Why's that?"

"…She's been dead for days…"

**…**

**…**

**…**

Scuzz ran ahead of Butch to where the school house was. When Butch told him about Clarabelle, he knew the look of despair and worry on the young man's face. He didn't think he could have taken it any harder than that. Scuzz found the school house and ran up to the entrance. "**CLARABELLE!?**" he called out.

Inside Blake turned her head and saw Scuzz's silhouette stand at the entrance of the school. She couldn't make out the look of horror, despair, and sadness filling his bearded face. In reaction to his appearance, Blake had on a look neither Butch nor Scuzz have ever seen before: sadness.

The twenty-three year old man slowly walked over to his dying lover and knelt down to her. Blake got up and put her back against the wall putting her hat over her eyes. "C-C-Clarabelle…? It's me…" he said softly to her, fighting back the tears in his eyes. Clarabelle stroked his face and smiled. "I knew you'd come back, Scotty… Jes' like ya promised." A tear fell from Scuzz's eye. "I know, Clare… I-I told ya I'd n-n..never break someth-thin' like that…"

(**Author's note: This is the part where you can look up and play_ It's Hard to Say Goodbye_ by Michael Ortega. It's really sad and it about made me cry when I wrote this to it. Play it throughout the rest of this chapter)**

Butch, leaning on the doorway, hung his head and hid his eyes from either of them, including Blake, because now they were filling up with tears. He had been down that same road one time too many. Blake didn't want to watch this from where she was and found a desk to perch on, watching with sadness in her eyes. "Tha..tha' ahre baby…?" Scuzz muttered. Clarabelle looked down at the bundle and frowned. "Yes… But…"

He didn't like that sound in her voice. "B-b-but wh-what?" He choked up. She gave him the bundle. "She's been gone for a while, hun… I couldn' do anythin' 'bout it…" Scuzz held the bundle and looked at who could have been his daughter. His bottom lip quivered as he shuddered, losing his battle with the tears as the flow down his face. "Her…? M-m-m-my… My Annabelle," he uttered in a cracked voice. Clarabelle leaned on his shoulder. "That's what ya wanted to name her…?" He nodded silently. "I think it's beautiful…" He nodded again. "I know…" he said resting his scuzzy brown haired head on hers. He put an arm around her and held her close to him. Scuzz averted his sky blue eyes to her and placed a kiss on her head.

Blake couldn't take it anymore and got up from the desk and rushed outside, getting out of Butch's way, never looking at him. Butch lifted his head up a bit and saw the couple's last moment together. His face filled with the expressions he never felt in a long time: regret, sadness, questioning, and sorrow. He knew exactly how Scuzz was feeling.

"Could you do one thin' for me, Scott…" Scuzz looked down at his lover. "Yeah…?" he replied softly. "Hold me… and Annabelle…" Scuzz didn't hesitate to do so and was losing the fight to hold a sob. "You think… they'll be there…?" she asked. Scuzz hesitated, stroking her dirty blonde hair.

"…I know they will…"

Clarabelle looked up at him as Scuzz looked down at her, closing the gap between them. The two kissed for a long time before they broke apart. Clarabelle whispered, "Thank you, Scuzz… For everything…"

And passed.

Scuzz felt his shoulders move up and down when he realized Clarabelle had passed. The tears he held in his eyes now came down like a waterfall. The building was soon filled with the sound of him crying. He brought his two girls together and never wanted to let go. Scuzz never heard the sound of spurs clinking and never noticed Butch kneeling down to his eye level. Butch gave out a heavy staggering sigh. "Son…" he muttered making Scuzz look at him; but Butch had his eyes right at the floor. "Son… I-"

He was caught off guard when Scuzz put his arms around his neck and cried on his shoulder. Butch, though a little awkward in this situation, wrapped his arms around Scuzz and just not say anything to him. It took him a while to speak up and comfort him. "Son. I know sometimes it's hard lettin' go an' say good bye… I would know that…"

Scuzz kept crying.

"An'… I'm sorry…"


	14. Dead Survivors Pt 2 (Monica)

As Butch let go of Scuzz and stepped out of the destroyed school house, he wiped a tear from his eye. He never realized how damn horrible it was to lose someone you loved for so long. And to even lose a child you never got to meet. She was _just a baby_, for Christ's sake!

Butch gave out a heavy sigh of distress and pushed his hair back. He glanced over and saw Blake leaning over a hitching post in front of what had looked like a mayor or governor's office. He slowly walked over to her and heard Blake mutter, "Life's not fair, is it?" He admitted she was right about that. "Sometimes ya jes gotta work wit' wha' life's gonna throw atcha... At least that's kinda what I thought..." Butch replied softly. Blake lifted her head and commented, "So what're ya gettin' at?" Butch shook his head. "I mean, I guess that, things gonna happen. An' ya cain't do nothin' 'bout it, if ya can."

Blake turned to Butch but had her head hung low and was silent for some time. Neither of them said a word until Blake said, "I jes' don' get why somebo'y could even be so damn heartless to cause this much destruction..." Butch looked at her and put a hand on her shoulder and replied, "Ya know, I thought we coul' be so cold. But this..." Blake lifted her eyes up to him. "This is jes' too damn cold..."

He saw that Blake had a guilty look in her eyes, like she may have regretted something. "But it ain't yer fault, kid. Don' blame yerself..." Blake glanced at the ground for a while and then back up at him, and gave him a small smile. "I'll be fine," she murmured barely audible.

The sudden sound of a screeching eagle made the two jump out of their skin and see where it came from. Japhet was perched on a door knob as he had opened the door and flew right in the building. "That es one weird bird..." Butch muttered.

Butch and Blake entered the half ruined building and seeing various paintings either trampled on or burned. Blake stepped on one of them and bent down to take a closer look at it. She realized she could recognize the family. "You knew 'em?" he asked. Blake nodded in response. "I was close friends with the daughter. Name was Monica," she recalled. "I remem'er her brothers woul' tease me 'bout me bein' blind an' all tha'." "Why woul' ya look bli-" She showed him her blue right eye before he could finish his sentence. "Ooh."

She nodded. "But it really ne'er bothered me. I git it alot." They heard Japhet screach again from the second floor of the building. Blake didn't hesitate to run up th stairs and wait for Butch to climb the 20 sets of stairs. Once he caught up to her, he was already out of breath when Blake tried not to giggle from this and patted him on the back. "Gittin' kinda ol' fer tha'?" He looked at her with a look and muttered "...Shut up..."

As Butch regained his breath, Blake looked around to see where Japhet went off to. "Now where's tha' stupid bird run off to?!" Butch glanced around and saw him by a door perching on a doorknob. "O'er there," he said. Blake turned her head to where Butch had pointed to. The two saw that the door was ajar. It looked like someone had busted it open and nobody did anything to repair it, then again, every single person in this town was dead already; so why bother?

Blake took a step forward and tried to remember the hallway. The memory, however, was fairly foggy. Lamia came up to her from behind and said, "This is the Masterson's residence." Blake nodded. '_Yeah. Go figure,' _she thought. "I know you told me that you always came up here to Monica's room and-"

"**MONICA!**" Blake suddenly said as she dashed to the doorframe. When Blake reached the door, and as Japhet perched on her shoulder, she opened the door and saw the damage done to the room. But what caught her attention even more was seeing Monica's body on her bed, her arms and legs tied to the bed posts, and blindfolded, mocking her blindness. Of all the disturbing things that she had to see, this was over-the-top sickening. She heard Butch come up behind her and see what she was seeing. Blake hesitantly walked over to her bed and kneels down on one knee and brushes a hair out of Monica's face. Some reason, she knows Monica is somehow still alive.

"Moni...? It's me. Blake..." she muttered softly, her eyes watering. Butch just leaned against the wall by the door, watching his... daughter talk to her friend. Blake watched as her dear friend slowly turned her head to face her despte being blind folded. "...Blakely? Tha' you...?" said Monica in a raspy voice like her throut was dry. Blake nodded slowly. "Yeah... It's me," she replied with a gentle grin. "How'dcha manage ta su'vive this crazy shit?" she asked in a joking tone; a tone in which Butch had never heard of before. "I... I dunno... I couldn' tell wha' was goin' on. All I heard was screamin' an' wood burnin'..." Monica recalled weakly. Blake pursed her lips and licked them due to them being dry as hell. "An' then wha'?" Blake asked. "I... Felt someone taking me from the action, an'..."

"An' what?"

"... I don' wanna tell ya...!"

"He took yer eyes out, didn' he?"

Monica weakly turned her head to the ceiling and her lip quivered. "As if I wasn't blind enough already."

After hearing her story, Butch had the gut feeling of disgust, sympathy, and sadness. Why take someone's eyes out if they were blind already?

Blake took her hand and placed it on top of Monica's pale hand closest to her. She had her eyes on the floor all watery. "But ya know what, Blake?" Blake averted her eyes to her as Monica turned her head towards Blake. "At least ya came back, like I've been prayin' for...!" Blake was speechless by her words. "Really...?" she said, her eyes now full of tears. Monica smiled and nodded in a weak motion. "An' I knew ya woul', too... For my last wish." Blake felt her heart stop. Butch knew what Monica meant by that. "Wh-what?"

Monica explained, "I know I ain't gonna live much longer... I can't take th' pain 'nymore... I don' like bein' blinded like this... I don' wanna continue on life like this... I hated bein' called a bat after all this time. Blake... I wan' you to end me..." Blake had on a look of shock with tears trying to escape her eyes. She darted her eyes to Butch, then down to the floor and back to her dear friend. "...No... No. No!** NO!** I ain't doin' it! I don' wanna! Yer my only friend!" Blake said in protest, tears finally out of her eyes. Monica had her head still on Blake as she insisted. "Blake. Ya know well that I never liked bein' blind like this. Why let me live my life beaten like this after what that man had done ta me?" Blake gritted her teeth and had hot tears of anger rolling down her face, but soon after, her face turned calm and sad. Her eyes kept to the floor, she wanted to refuse again, but after hearing her merciful plead, why should she?

"Are... Are ya sure...?" she asked in a quiet sad tone. Monica gently smiled and said, "I'm sure." More tears came out of Blake's blue and rusty eyes.

Butch just stood there watching all of this happen. He felt his eyes tear up by all of this. He somehow knew he wouldn't want Blake to go through something like this, but he couldn't do anything about it: it was her decision to make, not his.

He watched as Blake slowly stood up and shakily take her gun out of its holster. More tears fell down her face. Blake shakily raised the gun, pointing it to Monica's head. Butch took a step forward as Blake loaded her gun.

Before Blake could do anything, she looked at Butch and saw something she had never seen before from him: pain, regret, worry, and sadness.

"Blake? Are you okay...?" Monica asked out of the blue. Blake looked back at Monica's dying self. She nodded. "Yeah... I'll be fine...," she lied. Blake put the gun against her lips and whispered, "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry." She aimed her gun back to Monica and pulled the safety back. Blake bit her lip to make it stop quivering. She shut her eyes tight, not wanting the tears to come out again. Monica gave her one last smile and muttered, "Thank you, Blake... For everythin'..."

Blake pulled the trigger.

**((Author's Note: Okay. Play the piano version of _Leaving Earth_ from Mass Effect 3. It's soo sad and fitting! ;n;))**

Butch felt his heart shatter; a tear falling down his face.

Blake stood there and opened her eyes. What lay in front of her was now the lifeless body of who was once her only friend in the world. And she had to get rid of her.

Blake slowly put the gun back into its holster and kept standing there. Butch took some steps further but Blake turned and stormed out of the room and out of the building. Butch followed her fairly close out of the building. He saw her turn west of the building and noticed a house uptop a hill, seeing her storm toward it. He was about to go after her but he heard the hefty voice of a certain African man. "Butch! De hell happened?" Butch turned around and saw Freighter coming up behind him. "I hear' a gun go off! Ev'r'thin' alrigh'?" Butch just looked at him and said motioning his head in Blake's direction, "She's headin' tha' way."

The two men caught up to her and went in the house. Actually no, it was more like a mansion. Now that they thought about it, was this actually Blake's house? Joe did mention to Butch she was born into a wealthy family, so that probably explains it. Freighter looked around and found Blake staring at a wall. Butch saw what Freighter was looking at and also watched as she took her hand and placed it on the wall.

The two men kept watching as she made her hand into a fist and bang lightly at the wall at first. After a while, she kept hitting it not too roughly. Then she hesitated.

Her hand curled tighter and began pounding the wall harder and harder, until Blake became enraged by everything that had happened and began to truly punch the wall. Even though Blake forgot how thick the walls were, it didn't stop her from trying to make a hole in the wall. Blake began to curse aloud, tears of hot anger flowed down her face.

Butch was about to stop her from this behavior, but then he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked back and Freighter muttered, Let 'er do it…" And so, he had no choice but to watch. He watched as she punch the wall until her knuckles bled and she eventually stopped. Blake put her back against the wall while looking up to the ceiling and slid down to the floor. Blake cradled herself and began crying, never hearing the sound of footsteps coming towards her. She eventually looked up and saw Butch right in front of her with Freighter behind him, both down on one knee.

Butch had on a sullen look on his face as Blake examined her knuckles, realizing how much pain she had forced upon herself. Butch put a hand on her shoulder while she was distracted and then pulled her close to him, not too worried about the fact that she was getting a bit of his jacket wet. He felt her arms go around his neck and hold onto him tightly.

Freighter took the opportunity to wrap her knuckles in bandages; he was lucky he even had the bag with medical supplies. Looking at the kid, he never realized she truly had this side of sadness. Inside him, Freighter felt really bad for her after what Butch explained to him.

Butch put his hand on the side of her face and wiped the tears from her eyes with his thumb. "...I'm sorry, kid…" was all he could say to her.


	15. Letting Go

The two gangs sat there in complete silence, not one of them wanting to say something. Butch had Blake close to him with her head on his shoulder. She just kept staring into the flames at the center of the camp. A sound, besides the occasional coyote howling, came from Scuzz who was still grieving his losses. Freighter gave him a sympathetic look and put his hand on his shoulder. Scuzz muttered, "I... I-I-I-I... I c-c-cain't! I jes'-! ...I j-j-jes cain't!"

Blake turned her face towards Scuzz and adjusted herself a little, letting Butch put an arm around her protectively. Frank was about to say something to her but Butch glared at him and mouthed, "Not now!" Frank sat back up and shuddered a bit from the glare. After some time listening to Scuzz's soft crying, Blake finally spoke up, "...It... it's so damn wrong." Butch looked down at her. "Somebody had to've been sick in their damn mind to begin with..." Butch brushed a hair out of her face and rested his chin on top of her head. Edgar shook his head with a sigh and thought aloud, "Well, if this so sick, then why in the-a hell would they be even doing this in the-a first place?" "All I know is, he coul'n't 'ave done it by himself..." Blake replied.

Then, to change the subject, something hit Walliwitz. "O-Oi, boss. Uh, how d'ya s'ppose we git rid o' these bodies? We jes' gon burn 'em, o' wha'?" Blake looked at Walliwitz, then to Scuzz, then back to him and replied, "I suppose we could burn 'em all... But not all o' them..." Scuzz knew what she was talking about. "Right?"she asked looking at Scuzz. He lifted his head and sighed shakily. "I...I, uh... I s-s-suppose so... But.. I... I wan' it ta be... a sp-special one, ya know..." he offered and wiped a tear from his eye. Blake nodded. "I understand..."

**_..._**

**_..._**

**_..._**

Butch couldn't sleep. Not one bit. And he knew the two youngsters couldn't sleep either.

He looked over to check on Blake, but she wasn't there. He sat up and looked around and saw that not only was she not there, but Scuzz was missing as well. He got up and brushed the dirt off his coat and quietly stepped over the sleeping thugs. The first place Butch checked was the school house.

The sound of clinking spurs quietly echoed throughout the skeletons of the once thriving buildings before he found the school in the dark of the desert night. He stood in the doorway and, by the light of the full moon, saw Scuzz embracing his late-fiance and daughter, just like yesterday. He knew he didn't want to bother the grieving kid and left him alone. His next destination was the govenor's office; and he knew where to find her.

He found the stairs and slowly treaded up the 20 flights of stairs, noticing the door was wide open. He walked over and peered in to find Blake sitting next to Monica's bedside, just looking at her body. He noted that she looked like she was in deep thought sitting there. He knew he couldn't let her suffer anymore like this and pulled up a seat next to her; Blake, however, knew Butch would find her and be there with her and didn't move. The two sat there in silence before Butch spoke up. "... Ya know you were righ' back there." Blake glanced at him before averting her eyes back to Monica. Butch continued, "I also know tha' it can be har' ta lose someone close to ya... I woul' know, cuzz... I been there b'fore..."

Blake finally took her eyes off of Monica and looked right at Butch, who was staring at Monica. "How so?" asked Blake in a curious tone. Butch hesitated for a while but then she noticed a tear or two fall down his scarred face. That made Blake raise an eyebrow. He sighed and told her his story, "Ya see, me an' my sister... We were very close ta each other. I never wanted anythin' ta happen ta her..."

"Wha' happened...?"

A tear escaped Butch's eye.

"We... We got raided by those damn Comanches..."

He had to rub his eyes when his mind flashed back to years ago.

Butch was forced to remember his father firing warning shots to the raiders and how he had taken an arrow to the heart. He had to remember his mother being taken away and never seeing her again. Lastly, he remembered his sister... and how a Comanche warrior took her and slit her throat while he couldn't do anything about it all.

"I... I dunno... I was... I guess I was too scared... Too scared ta do anythin'..." Butch said in a shaky voice, now not even caring that a few tears were rolling down his face.

Blake was speechless by his story and stared into the floor for a while. Then she looked up and said quietly, "I'm... really sorry, Butch." He shook his head and said, "Don' need to... I kinda learned how ta git o'er it an' move on." He wiped his eyes and turned to Blake. "You gotta do tha' yerself. Don' let it hang o'er ya. Jes' go on wit' yer life." Blake looked at him like he was out of his mind. "Y-You tryin' ta tell me tha' I gotta... Gotta let e'erythin' I lost jes' slip away?" Butch tried to assure her that everything would be alright. "Blake. I know it ain't easy, but jes'-" "No! No I won'!" she fired back standing from her chair. "Blake. Please-" "Butch! You don' understand! You don' understan' wha' it's like fer me! You don' know how much I had ta leave b'hind! After all these years!" Blake exclaimed as she choked up and had tears flooding her eyes. "Kid-" "**SHUT UP!** How coul' ya _think_ that some _damned murderer_ like _me_ could forget th' feelin' o' regret hangin' o'er ya like a deadman on a noose!? It do'en't work like that!" Tears began to fall down her face.

Butch didn't say anything, he could only watch her. "Even now, I still live wit' th' fuckin' regret of killin' th' people who were meant ta be m' family! Why woul' I wanna **live like that?!**" Right there, Butch knew she had admitted to massacring her whole family; her secret she kept for so long. Blake and Butch looked into each other's eyes for a while before Blake began to breakdown crying. "I... I," was all she could say at the moment. She dropped to her knees and kept crying. She didn't notice Butch going down on one knee but did feel him place a hand on her cheek to wipe a tear from her eye. He brushed her hair out of her right eye which made her look up to him.

Even from the darkness he saw how bright her blue eye was compared to how dark the rusty red eye was. He saw the tears glistening in her eyes. Some reason, there was something about her eyes that fascinated him like nothing else. But for Blake, she was jealous. Of him. But then, why would she be? He had nothing against her, right?

The next thing Butch knew, Blake collapsed onto him and clutched onto his coat. He didn't care if she was getting his shoulder wet anyway; she needed it. He felt her shoulders move up and down as he wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. The kid needed someone to cry on and that was okay with him. He placed a hand on the back of her head and gently stroked her short beige hair. "_Shhhhh..._" was all that could come out of him. He felt that her shaking was easing down, and before he knew it, she fell asleep on him.

He looked at her and gently smiled. He picked her up and brought her out of the building with Japhet following him by quickly gliding from one stopping point to the next. He was about to the camp when he got the feeling someone was following him. He stopped, and, while letting Japhet perch on his shoulder, heard the sound of dirt crunching underneth boots stop just a yard behind him.

He knew who would be following him at this time.

"Ya hear' e'rythin', di'n' ya?..." He muttered out loud. He heard the voice stutter, "Y-Y-Yeah... I... I never kn-knew 'nyth-th-thin' 'bout th-that. I... I,uh, I didn' r-r...re'lize sh-she e'en had all th-th-tha' regre'." Butch looked down at her and listened to him. "D...d-do ya th-th-thin' there w-was someth-th...somethin' I c-coulda done?" Butch thought about that for a moment. Could he?

...

"'Frai' not, boy..."

Scuzz looked at him in defeat. "E'en she coul'n'ta done not'in' 'bout it..." He took a few more steps towards the bank when: "S-Sir...!" Butch stopped and turned his head in his direction. He didn't know what made the scuzzy outlaw call him 'sir', but he had no choice but to listen to him, even if he had to sound like a broken record. "...Y-y-You don' th-th-thin' tha' you w-woul' a b-been… Er… n-n-n...never mind…" The two were silent for a long time. Then Butch said something that caught Scuzz off guard: "...Ya worry 'bout her, don 'cha…?"

Scuzz couldn't think of anything to say; How did Butch know that? "H-h-how did-"

"I can tell. Ya worry fer her life. E'en if she has had a broken past…" he muttered and brushed a hair out of her eye. "Am I right?"

Even if Scuzz had wanted to deny his secret connection with her, why would he want to? He was the only one to figure it out. Now in fear of him tellling the others, he sighed and admitted, "I… I kinda though' o' her as… as a s-s-sister. I… I th-though' sh-sh-she h-h… had some'hin' w-w-wron'..." Butch nodded silently. He looked up and said, "Son." He felt his eyes on him. "We didn't have this conversation. Righ'?"

Scuzz nodded and replied, "Yessir." and the two walked back quietly to the camp. Scuzz fell asleep right away. Butch, however, couldn't make Blake get off of him. So, he decided to let her sleep with him for the time being. As he lie down, he watched as Blake adjusted herself in her sleep. He smiled gently and put his arm around her shoulder, then he leaned down a bit and put his lips on top of her head and said quietly, "I'm sorry, Blake…" and fell asleep.

Unknowingly, Blake had woken up and heard what Butch said. In her own response, Blake slowly smiled and said in a barely audible voice, "I know, daddy…" and drifted off to sleep.


End file.
